The National Research Council recently experienced a major cyber attack, and it believes China is to blame.
The Council, which is responsible for business-related technology research, stated that the Communications Security Establishment detected the highly sophisticated cyber attack against the NRC’s IT infrastructure. The Council also claims that the attack came from a “Chinese state-sponsored actor.”
It’s not a surprise that the NRC would be a prime target for cyber espionage from international parties. The council focuses primarily on business-related research and strives to shorten the gaps between early research, development, and commercialization.
More obvious targets include defense, aeronautical and cyber security innovations, but even their advances in communication could be valuable to international parties. The Latin America Unified Communications and Collaboration Solutions Market report stated that the market size of united communications is projected to explode from $890.39 million last year to over $1.4 billion by 2020.
Unified communications is one of the most popular trends in corporate computing and investment, using technology to tie all the moving parts of a business together. The party that owns the best communication technology could show major profits in the years to come.
Canada’s Chinese Embassy has denied the allegations, citing its government’s firm opposition to cyber attacks, of which spokesperson Yang Yundong says China has also been a major victim. He went on to say that China faced thousands of cyber attacks in 2013 alone.
The NRC statement said that the Council is working closely with security partners and IT experts to improve the safety and security of their IT infrastructure, but the new measures will take time to implement. In the meantime, the council is containing the breach, analyzing the depth of the breach, and notifying shareholders.