It’s been over a couple of months since I last focused on the topic of espionage in Toronto and with the recent release of CSIS’ 2024 Public Report (download the PDF or read it online), it seems the perfect time to revisit the topic, especially since Toronto is mentioned a number of times.
I’m just gonna skip over the contentious introductory pleasantries and jump right to the heart of Dan Rogers‘ (the new CSIS boss), intro:
We continually re-evaluate and re-deploy resources to ensure we remain focused on the highest priorities in safeguarding Canada.
If this isn’t a smokescreen then the vibe I’m getting is that the Service is stretched a little thin and, if I’m being honest, it all sounds a little familiar.
Dan has been on the job for about 8 months at this point so if I’m to trust what he’s saying then I’d have to trust his opinion to be well-informed. He also claims:
As states and citizens alike adopt new technology, such as encryption and generative artificial intelligence, Canada must keep pace in understanding the varied impacts, opportunities and risks. These advancements can offer opportunities for Canada’s growth, while simultaneously equipping those who would seek to do us harm. In response, CSIS has implemented new processes and structures to review and shift resources as priorities emerge.
Again, there’s that “we can’t do it all” tone right at the end.
Also of concern is the claim that encryption and generative AI are new. While it’s true that generative AI is making spectacular leaps and bounds forward, for the Service it should’ve been on the radar for some time. Maybe that’s just my own assessment.
I’ve incorporated neural networks into /sectionb because the underlying concepts, at this point, have a lengthy history that predate most living people. In other words, it’s not really that new. You’d think the Service would have at least a couple of people on staff to keep track of this sort of stuff.
Moving on, Deputy Director of Operations Vanessa Lloyd notes:
In 2024, CSIS actively investigated espionage, foreign interference and terrorist threats, and for the first time in many years, also made concerted efforts to counter sabotage.
For the “first time in many years”? Yikes!
She also states:
In 2020, CSIS acknowledged that it had observed espionage and foreign interference levels not seen since the Cold War.
That’s reassuring. So is her grasp of “new” technologies:
This perspective remains true today as the threat environment evolves at an ever more rapid pace with the advent of new technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Again, AI and quantum computing are not particularly new.
However, in her writing she notes a 1996 bust of two bona fide Russian spies, a 1999 investigation that “included CSIS”, a 2006 bust of a GTA terror cell (five of who resided in Toronto), the preemption of a bomb plot in 2023, the arrests of Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi in 2024, and the interception of another bomb plot in the same year.
Extremism surrounding the Khalistan movement is specifically singled out as a long-term problem.
Other ostensible threats include “a variety of extremist beliefs, including militant accelerationism (advocating for the violent destruction of society), neo-Nazism, and satanic occultism”, but as far as CSIS knows these groups were “… not actively organizing a mass casualty attack.”
White supremacy is not mentioned once, which is quite a pivot from just a few years prior. With CSIS apparently playing cheerleader at that time, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair maintained that:
“There’s been an escalation, not only in rhetoric, but security and planning … countering this group [The Proud Boys] has become an important priority for the government of Canada.”
This was all happening at the same time as terms like “Sikh extremism” were being purposefully removed from government communications on extremist activities.
One thing that the report makes crystal clear is who CSIS is presently focused on, namely elements from:
PRC, India, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Pakistan
In the meantime:
… certain foreign states are attempting to interfere in Canada’s electoral processes and democratic institutions, and that foreign interference had an impact on the electoral ecosystem and has undermined public confidence in Canada’s democracy.
Presumably, when it comes to those “foreign states” it’s more than just interference:
CSIS assesses that RMVE [Religiously Motivated Violent Extremism] actors will continue to pose a domestic threat to Canada in 2025.
Specifically, as relates to Pakistan between 2018 and 2023:
… CSIS conducted a threat reduction measure to reduce the Pakistan foreign interference threat, which was later assessed as effective.
What is that “thread reduction measure” that was used between 2018 and 2023, you may ask?
CSIS has had the authority to undertake threat reduction measures (TRMs) since 2015. A TRM is an operational action that is intended to reduce a threat to the security of Canada as defined in Section 2 of the CSIS Act. Given its mandate and collection capabilities, CSIS is at times the best placed Government of Canada entity to confront a national security threat. Generally speaking, TRMs fall into three broad, but non-restrictive categories that include:
- Messaging: Directly or indirectly pushing information to a threat actor or person impacted by the threat in an attempt to influence their behaviour or reduce the threat.
- Leveraging: Disclosing information to a third party to enable them to take action, at their discretion, against the identified threat-related activities.
- Interference: Directly affecting the ability of a threat actor to engage in threat-related activity.
Basically, anything from an indirect suggestion to “directly affecting” the target … got it 😉.
Unfortunately, the feeling I’m left with is that the Canadian security forces are behind the times and behind the eight ball. So what now … corner pocket? 🎱😎