ESPIONAGE IN CANADA IN 2020 HIGHEST SINCE COLD WAR: SPY AGENCY

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has released its 2020 public report and the spy agency says that the frictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a rise in foreign spying and interference, Dharvi Vaid reported for Deutsche Welle.

Canada's spy agency said the pandemic had presented opportunities for “threat actors” overseas

Espionage and foreign interference in or against Canada in 2020 was tracked "at levels not seen since the Cold War," a report published by Canada's spy agency said. CSIS blamed the uptick, in part, on the fragility caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Violent extremism and malicious cyber activity were also among the key security threats to the nation that "accelerated, evolved and in many ways became much more serious for Canadians," CSIS director David Vigneault said in a statement published on the Canadian government website.

He pointed out that just as the world adapted to the pandemic environment so did the threat actors.

"The fluid and rapidly evolving environment caused by COVID-19 has created a situation ripe for exploitation by threat actors seeking to advance their own interests," Vigneault said. Cyber-actors took advantage of the dependency of the world on the internet during the pandemic, CSIS reported.

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