Communications Security Establishment (CSE), one of Canada's intelligence agencies, issued a warning that Russia-aligned hackers will continue their attempts to compromise Canada's oil and gas sector until the war in Ukraine ends, CBC News reported.
The agency noted that those seeking to disrupt the supply of oil and gas are likely looking to target bottlenecks — such as networks of large-diameter pipelines, transfer terminals and major refining facilities.
“We assess that this activity will almost certainly continue for the duration of the war, and will likely increase as Russia's invasion efforts falter, or new support for Ukraine is announced," the CSE wrote in its report.
The report also highlighted that ransomware is almost certainly the primary cyber threat to the reliable supply of oil and gas to Canadians.
The assessment comes a few months after a package of leaked US intelligence documents suggested Russia-backed hackers successfully gained access to Canada's natural gas distribution network.
In 2021, a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, an 8,880-kilometre-long fuel pipeline running up the Eastern Seaboard, took tens of millions of litres of gasoline offline.
"It was estimated that, at the time that the pipeline was restarted, the Eastern US was only a few days away from experiencing food and other shortages from the disruption of fuel to other sectors such as truck transportation," CSE's report added.
The cyber intelligence agency also wrote that while Russia-aligned non-state actors might be less sophisticated and technically capable than their Kremlin-sponsored counterparts, they can still create damage.
They concluded, though, by stating that even if state actors like Russia are in a position to attack Canada's energy supplies, it doesn't mean they plan to.
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