愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Spying in Canada: 'Pretty much anyone' wants our intelligence, warns ex-CSIS officer

Share

A has been charged as part of a national security investigation and is and sharing that information with the Republic of Rwanda.

It's just the latest in a string of incidents that has seen foreign actors trying to and one former CSIS intelligence officer warns it should spark a review of who is able to access Canada's most valuable secrets.

"What's the reason these people are accessing this information?" Neil Bisson, director of the Global Intelligence Knowledge Network, "This is definitely opening up the eyes of a lot of intelligence and law enforcement organizations."

Can we keep secrets safe?

Bisson says within Canada's intelligence community about who's able to access secret and sensitive intelligence --- and what they're doing with the information after accessing it.

In the Calgary case, the RCMP officer is accused of accessing records described by the force as "non-top secret," and it is unclear exactly how sensitive that information may have been.

Speaking generally, , "There's always a certain level of trust when someone achieves鈥 secret or top-secret clearance. More attention needs to be paid to the ways they can identify people accessing this information."

He also expects it's likely that security will tighten up as the high-profile cases have "opened a lot of eyes" within security organizations, but warns "pretty much anyone" is interested in accessing Canada's intelligence.

"We're looking at a situation here where foreign influence is coming from multiple countries that typically aren't even looked at as being a concern."

A catalyst for change?

Bisson says he still has faith in the ability of Canadian security organizations to keep the country's intelligence safe --- despite the seeming rise of bad actors trying to access secure information.

He does warn that some change is needed within Canada's security establishment 鈥 particularly among the polices that oversee who's able to access secure intelligence and most importantly what they're doing with it."

"I'm not overly concerned there is a lack of security," Bisson says. "I think this is a catalyst for the intelligence and law enforcement organizations in Canada to take a deeper look into the restrictions that they have."

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Stay Connected