Canada’s foreign affairs department hit with cyberattack

(NEW YORK) — Canada’s foreign affairs department was hit with a cyberattack last week, according to the Treasury Board of Canada.

The hack of Global Affairs Canada, the government entity responsible for diplomatic and global relations, occurred on Wednesday, according to a statement provided by the Treasury Board to ABC News.

The statement does not identify who carried out the cyberattack.

As a result of the attack, some access the internet and internet-based services are not currently available, but mitigation measures were being taken to restore them.

The Treasury Board said no other government department experienced a cyberattack.

“We are constantly reviewing measures to protect Canadians and our critical infrastructure from electronic threats, hacking, and cyber espionage. We encourage all government and non-government partners to use cyber security best practices,” the statement says.

The attack comes amid tensions over Ukraine and two days after the Canada Centre for Cyber Security warned malware was being used to target Ukrainian organizations.
New cyber vulnerability poses ‘severe risk,’ DHS says.

On Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security warned that the U.S. could be a target of Russian cyberattacks if the government responds to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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