From: CTV News

OTTAWA — A recently retired spy says a cyber-attack on key infrastructure  such as the power grid could be “potentially devastating” for Canada.

Ray Boisvert, former assistant director of the Canadian Security  Intelligence Service, has told a security conference an attack could mean  malfunctioning cash machines, no gas at the pumps and empty store shelves.

But he says companies and governments are only now beginning to face the  threat from rogue states bent on doing damage or stealing secrets.

Boisvert, now a private consultant, pointed to a list of “worrisome”  countries including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Boisvert, who left CSIS about six months ago, says some in the line of fire  are wilfully blind to the cyber-problem because it’s so complex and often there  is no immediate pain when a computer network is breached.

The federal auditor general recently found the government had been slow to  mount an effective response to the rapidly growing threat of cyber-attacks on  crucial systems.

Michael Ferguson said the government had made only limited progress in  shoring up computer networks and had lagged in building partnerships with other  players.

There must be better links between government and business to share  information and intelligence on cyber-threats, said Boisvert.

Governments should adopt methods now applied by businesses, such as banks,  which have invested time and resources in better security, he said.

Revamped laws, diplomatic efforts and possibly military action to strike  back against the more serious threats will also be necessary, Boisvert added.  But money will be needed most of all.

“There are a number of solutions to help combat the whole cyber-threat,” he  said.

“But rest assured they will be expensive, they’re complicated and they’ll  take continuous reinvestment of capital and attention from both governments and  private sector (players) to eradicate the problem — or at least be able to  counter it effectively.”

In his report, the auditor general pointed out the federal cyber-incident  response centre doesn’t even operate around the clock.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews quickly acknowledged that cyber-threats  were not considered a priority until recently.