Hackers stole secret Canadian government data
Hackers who attacked two of Canada's federal departments stole classified information before being discovered last January, CBC News has learned.
The revelation comes from documents obtained under Access to Information laws, and contradicts what the minister in charge said at the time.
Six months ago, hackers launched an unprecedented cyber attack on the federal government. In January, the government's computer system came under attack.
Hackers sent malicious emails to staff that appeared to be coming from senior managers. When staff opened the attachments, hackers found a path into the federal network, providing access to classified information.
"Indications are that data has been exfiltrated and that privileged accounts have been compromised," said a memo written Jan. 31, 2011.
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She urged an overhaul to deal with the vulnerabilities, but found not much had changed when she checked again three years later.
In May, 2010, a top secret memo from CSIS, Canada's spy agency, warned that cyber-attacks on government, university and industry computers had been growing "substantially."
MSN/CBC: Hackers stole secret Canadian government data - *News - MSN CA
