back to article Snowden dump details Canadian spies running false flag ops online

While the NSA headlines most of Ed Snowden's revelations of mass surveillance, the latest leaked documents reveal the Canadians are a dab hand at cyber-stuff, both defensive and offensive. Top-secret files, published by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and The Intercept, show that Canuck intelligence has developed its own …

  1. Florida1920
    Pint

    They drink beer and whisky, just like us

    Grew up near the border. Always thought of Canadians as a sub-set of Americans, with funny pronunciations and better manners.

    1. InfiniteApathy

      Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

      Hello Southerner,

      Thank you for the compliment (I think).

      A correction if I may - we are not a sub-set of America. Although we left Her on different terms, you and I are, for the most part, a subset of the UK culturally. Exemptions obviously apply; it's a large continent and I do not wish to be associated with Budweiser any more than you do I'm sure.

      Warmest regards from your Northern neighbour.

      PS. Chesterfield.

      PPS. colour, flavour, behaviour, harbour, honour, humour, labour, rumour, splendour.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        InfiniteApathy - Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

        Hmm, Budweiser! Are you talking about the real deal (Czech origin) or the pale US imitation ?

      2. Antonymous Coward
        Pint

        Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

        Calm down chaps! Methinks you're both right!...

        After all, Canadians are a subset of Americans. Just as Mexicans, Panamanians, Venezuelans, Cubans, Peruvians, the poor stateless Puerto Ricans, Guatemalans, Yanks, etc. are also "a subset of Americans". Perhaps OP is a supporter of one of the Canadian contributions to Americana like "American football" and therefore understands the term correctly.

        1. Crazy Operations Guy

          Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

          Might want to remove Peurto Rico from that list as they are recognized as a part of the US (pretty much a US state in everything except name and lack of senators)

          1. Mayhem

            Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

            Puerto Rico also has no voting rights, being full of alien races according to the law.

            1. kain preacher

              Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

              Um they can vote for president in Puerto Rico ..Puerto Ricans are full US citizen. If they move to a state they can vote in state and federal election.

    2. Crazy Operations Guy

      Re: They drink beer and whisky, just like us

      You may be confused, that would be the state of Georgia north of you, Canada is aboot 1000 miles further up...

  2. Sanctimonious Prick
    WTF?

    Wow!

    "112,794 bits of network traffic every day"

    Jeez! That made me chuckle! :D

    1. thames

      Re: Wow!

      The news story didn't quite quote it correctly. The number refers to items of network traffic that were believed to be associated with a "threat". In other words, emails, HTTP GETs, log-in attempts, etc. that looked unusually suspicious. The slides date from 2009, so I imagine the numbers are a lot bigger today.

      The original source wasn't clear, but it appears that this number may be an aggregate across the entire "5 eyes" rather than just counting "threats" directed at Canada alone.

      As for the "125GB of internet traffic per hour", that's counting just the "metadata", not the full network traffic that goes with it. I also imagine that they've increased these numbers considerably in the past half dozen years.

    2. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: Wow!

      Meant blobs, blocks of data, not literal bits :P

      C.

      1. Schultz
        Boffin

        Blobs of data

        Is that the new official TheRegister unit for data? How to convert blobs to bits, bytes, and encyclopedias? Are we allowed to use milliblobs and Megablobs? Is a blob divisible, is it quantized?

        Curious minds want to know...

        1. Sir Runcible Spoon

          Re: Blobs of data

          I don't think 'blobs' is El Reg specific terminology, it's been common usage as far as I am aware for quite some time.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    Don't wreck the budget there, Canada

    "the CSE claims it has the ability to process 125GB of internet traffic per hour for intelligence, and store 300TB at a time"

    What is that - about $50,000 worth of gear? Less?

    1. Hollerith 1

      Re: Don't wreck the budget there, Canada

      As long as it does the job. We Canucks are frugal.

      As for being just like our southern neighbours, "Pouvez-vous dire cela en français, eh, good buddy?"

      1. Florida1920

        Re: Don't wreck the budget there, Canada

        "Pouvez-vous dire cela en français, eh, good buddy?"

        Oui! Bonsoir, mon ami.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Still?

    If the U.S. and U.K. are doing it, then Canada is doing it too (or taking their own path at least). Anyone who thinks Canada is just sitting there "waiting it out", well, you might be right but they still have to wait defensively. But Canada should be fine, because to most non-Canadians, Canada seems like a hooker with 2 pimps, so that's a lot of protection (U.K./U.S...Somebody had to say it!!!).

    Anyways, if this article really seems like news to anyone, then clearly we need more Snow.

  5. dan1980

    Okay so it doesn't represent the current state of affairs. I'm willing to accept that.

    I have no doubt that they not longer have the ability to process just 125GB per hour and store 300TB. The only implication that a sensible person would draw, however, is that their capabilities are greatly increased from those meager numbers.

  6. thomas k.

    making attacks look like someone else is responsible

    So, they could hack a major corporation, um, let's say Sony, and make it look like the attack originated in, say North Korea? Hypothetically speaking, of course.

    1. Mark 85

      Re: making attacks look like someone else is responsible

      Or...<thinks hard> maybe a couple of health insurance companies that no one seems to know where the attacks came from?

    2. Sanctimonious Prick
      Happy

      Re: making attacks look like someone else is responsible

      Funny, I just pretty much said the same thing, minus the Sony part :)

      1. thomas k.
        Happy

        Re: making attacks look like someone else is responsible

        @ SP

        Sorry, hadn't read that linked article (and so not the comments, either). Shows great minds think alike.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "has the ability to run "false flag" operations, making attacks look like someone else"

    We know that Sony had a Kim Jung Un comedy going to the theaters, but now I guess the real question is whether there was a Dudley Dooright sequel that had been greenlighted!!

  8. PapaD

    Canada isn't a sub-set of America, its the control group for the great American experiment.

    1. ItsNotMe
      Facepalm

      "Canada isn't a sub-set of America, its the control group for the great American experiment."

      But just which "great American experiment"? North, Central, or South American?

      The Americas do stretch nearly from Pole to Pole you know.

  9. Cuddles

    Title seems a bit off

    "running false flag ops"

    Compare and contrast with:

    "claims it has the ability to run "false flag" operations"

    Even the most nutty conspiracy theorists don't tend to accuse Canada of much, and given that the point of false flag operations is to create an excuse to attack or otherwise discredit an opponent there really doesn't seem to be much point in them doing so since, unless my awareness of global politics is rather off the mark, Canada isn't actually looking for any such excuse at the moment. I have little doubt that any spy agency would love to have the ability just in case in might come in handy, and would likely claim to have it just to make themselves look good even if they didn't, but that's very different from accusing them of actively engaging in such things as the article title does.

    1. Crazy Operations Guy

      Re: Title seems a bit off

      You forget the first rule of investigative journalism:

      "If they have the capability to do something, the they most certainly have done it, lack of evidence be damned (And if they produce evidence showing they haven't done something, accuse them of covering it up or hiding the facts)."

  10. martinusher Silver badge

    So.....

    They've got all this collection and collation capability so why do we all have so much hassle from identity theft and other Internet based crime? Could it be that they're obsessed with the wrong targets? (As in "If North Korea didn't exist maybe they'd have to invent it?")

  11. Gis Bun

    You have to take anything Snowden the Traitor says with a grain of salt. Let him rot in Ruskieland.

    Canada isn't a sub-set of the US but maybe sometimes guinea pigs. after all McDonald's pizza [remember that?] was first tested in Canada before entering the US [the pizza logo used was created by a Canadian].

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