Canada’s spy agency uses threat reduction powers to neutralize foreign botnets

Per The Hacker News, Canada's spy service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), has successfully utilized its threat reduction warrant powers for the first time to neutralize two foreign-operated botnets targeting devices within Canada.

The Federal Court granted CSIS the authority to access and alter infected servers, home routers, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including Ring doorbells and security cameras. This operation aimed to degrade and destroy botnet data and disconnect the compromised devices from malicious networks. The targets were specifically Canadian-based hardware, with the court emphasizing that the operation focused on devices, not individuals, and any incidentally collected personal data was destroyed. These botnets were used by foreign adversaries to relay traffic, enabling them to probe critical infrastructure, government, and military networks while masking their origin.

The ruling noted the energy sector as a potential target, highlighting the risk of disruption to Canadian infrastructure. This action mirrors recent US operations where law enforcement used similar tactics against botnets linked to China and Russia, but Canada's case marks the first instance of an intelligence agency employing its threat reduction measures under the CSIS Act.

Source: The Hacker News