Amid diplomatic row, Canada names India in ‘cyberthreat adversary’ list, accuses it of ‘likely spying’

“We measure that Indian state-sponsored cyber menace actors apt behaviour cyber menace enactment against Government of Canada networks for the intent of espionage,” the study states.

This improvement follows a play of strained relations since Trudeau alleged that Canada had credible grounds implicating Indian authorities agents successful the execution of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar successful British Columbia, Surrey successful June 2023 — an accusation New Delhi has powerfully denied arsenic baseless.

Released connected October 30 by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre), portion of the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), the NCTA 2025-2026 highlights threats facing Canadian individuals and organisations. While erstwhile National Cyber Threat Assessments successful 2018, 2020, and 2023-24 omitted notation of India, the 2025-26 study includes India alongside China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea successful the ‘Cyber Threat from State Adversaries’ section, addressing the state-sponsored cyber menace scenery successful Canada.

The study states, “India’s enactment astir surely aspires to physique a modernised cyber programme with home capabilities, precise apt utilizing it to beforehand nationalist security, including espionage, counterterrorism, and efforts to elevate its planetary presumption and antagonistic narratives against India and the Indian government.”

The appraisal further claims that India’s cyber programme apt utilises commercialized vendors to fortify its operations. It asserts that bilateral relations betwixt Canada and India volition “very likely” power Indian state-sponsored cyber activities against Canada.

According to the CSE, it and its partners wrong Canada and the Five Eyes confederation are actively monitoring cyber threats from some authorities and non-state actors, adapting to their evolving tactics. The NCTA 2025-2026 offers Canadians the CSE’s position connected existent and emerging cyber threats, detailing however the scenery whitethorn displacement implicit the adjacent 2 years.

The study besides comes amidst heightened tensions betwixt the 2 countries arsenic days earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser Nathalie Drouin and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison acknowledged leaking accusation to The Washington Post which archetypal reported that India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah was down the run of targeting Khalistan separatists successful Canada.

With PTI inputs