OTTAWA – CBC News reports that foreign hackers who attacked a number of Canadian government computers last year were after insider information on the attempted takeover bid for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan.
The report says Bay Street law firms involved in the unsuccessful $38-billion takeover by the Australian resources conglomerate BHP Billiton also had their data systems broken into.
Daniel Tobok, a cyber-crime expert whose international cyber-sleuthing company was called in by a number of the firms hit by the attacks, tells CBC that the hacking spree came from computers in China.
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Tobok says hackers penetrated the computer systems of at least seven Canadian law firms in what experts believe was an attempt to mask the real target – the few firms directly involved in the aborted Potash (TSX:POT) deal.
Two of the targeted law firms – Stikeman Elliott, and Blake, Cassels & Graydon – tell CBC News that they are not aware of any compromise of client information “as a result of any attempt to breach our systems.”
Tobok estimates more than 100 hackers had to have been involved in the cyber attacks – suggesting it was state-sponsored.
He says the hacking methods used were so sophisticated the intruders almost completely erased their tracks after the attacks.
It is not clear why the hackers were after the takeover information, but China – one of the world’s biggest consumers of potash-based fertilizers – was reportedly against the BHP takeover bid.
The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the cyber-espionage scandal.
Experts say the fact the computers used in the attacks were in China does not necessarily mean the hackers were there, too.
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