An unprecedented cyberattack on the Canadian government also targeted Defence Research and Development Canada, making it the third key department compromised by hackers, CBC News has learned.

The attack, apparently from China, also gave foreign hackers access to highly classified federal information and also forced the Finance Department and Treasury Board — the federal government's two main economic nerve centres — off the internet.

Defence Research and Development Canada works to assist in the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces. It is a civilian agency of the Department of National Defence.

The cyberattack, first detected in early January, left Canadian counter-espionage agents scrambling to determine how much sensitive government information may have been stolen and by whom.
Highly placed sources tell CBC News the cyberattacks were traced back to computer servers in China.

They caution, however, that there is no way of knowing whether the hackers are Chinese, or some other nationality routing their cybercrimes through China to cover their tracks.

So far, officials in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government have been all but mum on the extraordinary breach of security.

The government initially issued a terse statement, passing it all off as merely an "attempt to access" federal networks. It has refused to release any further information.

Finance, Treasury Board

The hackers apparently managed to take control of computers in the offices of senior government executives as part of a scheme to steal the key passwords that unlock entire government data systems.

It is unclear whether the attackers were able to compromise other departmental computer networks, including those that contain Canadians' sensitive personal information such as tax and health records.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a security analyst and former CSIS intelligence officer, told CBC News on Thursday "all indications point at China" as the origin of the attempted cyber espionage.

He added that any such attack would have some connection to the government in China, which is also known for producing so-called "patriotic hackers" devoted to targeting institutions or governments perceived as threatening to the government at home.
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