Amid diplomatic spats between both nations, Canada has identified India as a threat to its cyber security for the first time. The biennial National Cyber ​​Threat Assessment, released on Wednesday, alleges that India has created a cyber program, which it will use for espionage activities.

The agency warned that India’s cyber threat activity against Canadian individuals and organizations will increase as diplomatic ties between the countries deteriorate. The agency’s chief calls India an “emerging threat” and would like to relax these cyber threat actions against Canadians.

But, the biggest threat to Canada’s cyber security comes not from India, but from another country. It is China.

The agency’s report names China as the greatest threat to Canada, above all other state and non-state actors, and its capabilities to cause damage to Canada’s national security remain “independent.”

According to the report, Chinese cybercriminals have compromised at least 20 networks connected to the Canadian government. “Among our adversaries, the scale of the PRC’s cyber program, craft, and ambitions in cyberspace are unmatched,” the report said.

Chinese agents have compromised government data for the past five years and managed to collect valuable information. However, there is no mention of whether the classified or personal data was stolen by Chinese criminals.

Beijing agents have also conducted espionage against Canadian federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous government networks.

But why is China spying on government networks? The spy agency says this is to ensure Beijing has an advantage in China-Canada bilateral relations and trade matters. Chinese spies devote significant time and resources to studying the target. Provincial and territorial governments are also targets because they have decision-making power over regional trade and commerce, including resource extraction.

“Collected information is also likely to be used to support the People’s Republic of China’s malign influence and interference activities against Canada’s democratic processes and institutions,” the report added.

Canada has also warned earlier that the social media platform TikTok is being used by China to access personal data, posing a “threat to the way we live”. China is also using its cyber skills to support Beijing’s goal of silencing activists, journalists and diaspora communities.

In addition to India and China, the report also names Russia, Iran and North Korea. While Russian cyber threat actors target the Canadian government, military, private sector and critical infrastructure networks, Iran is using an “aggressive” cyber operations program to “coerce, harass and repress” its opponents and critics.