14 DAY TRIAL // China has denied any official involvement into the recent hacking attacks against the computer networks of three Canadian government departments and agencies.
Last week CBC News reported that attacks originating in China have compromised the computer networks of Defence Research and Development Canada, the Canadian Finance Department and the Treasury Board.
"I wouldn't say it's the most aggressive, but it was a significant one. Significant [in] that they were going after financial records," said Treasury Board President Stockwell Day about the cyberattacks.
The Canadian government says it was able to block the attacks with some degree of success and Prime Minister Stephen Harper reassured the public that there is a plan to keep the country's official systems secure.
"[...] We have a strategy in place to try and evolve our systems as those who would attack them become more sophisticated," Mr. Harper said, according to CBC News, adding that cybersecurity was "a growing issue of importance, not just in this country, but across the world."
Even though there was evidence of the attacks coming from China, this is not a clear indication that the hackers were located there or that they had a connection with that country's government.
Most hackers route their attacks through compromised systems located far away from their actual location and had these been Chinese hackers, it would have made sense for them to do the same.
On the other hand, China has a long history of suspected state-sponsored hacking, which the government repeatedly denies. Last year, it put pressure on a Taiwanese researcher and prevented him from publicly disclosing ten years worth of research about the army's cyber hacking division.
AFP reports that, talking to reporters, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that allegations of the Chinese government supporting hacking are groundless.
"The Chinese government is firmly opposed to hacking and other criminal activities targeting computer networks and fights against such activities," he added.