Canada's spy agency accuses India of launching cyber attack & tracking pro-Khalistanis in a scathing report

As the diplomatic row between India and Canada intensifies, a Canadian spy agency accused India of using cyber technology to track separatists abroad. The warning came a day after Ottawa accused a top Indian official of authorising violence that included the killing of a pro-Khalistani activist in Vancouver.

In a report, Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) alleged that India was using its cyber capabilities “to track and surveil activists and dissidents living abroad”. The agency also accused India of stepping up cyber attacks against the Canadian government network.

In the past, Canada has accused “agents working for the Indian government” of the killing of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. “It is clear that we are seeing India being an emerging [cyber] threat actor,” the CSE chief, Caroline Xavier, told a news conference on Wednesday, AFP reported. In the scathing report, the agency blamed the rift in bilateral relations between Canada and India as “very likely” to be the factor of this activity.

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What does the CSE report say? 

The report alleged that after Canada’s accusations, “a pro-India hacktivist group” launched crippling DDoS attacks. The group flooded a system of online traffic to make it inaccessible to legitimate users. India has denied all the allegations calling them “absurd”.

It is important to note that the latest allegations from Canada came after Delhi and Ottawa expelled the other’s ambassador and other senior diplomats. As of now, four Indian nationals have been arrested in connection to Nijjar’s murder.

In the past, both the United States and Canada alleged that an Indian spy was involved in the foiled murder plot of another pro-Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Meanwhile, India has slammed Canada for not ensuring the security of its diplomats and promoting separatist movements.

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With inputs from AFP.