US Document Leak Suggests Russian Hackers Accessed Canada’s Gas Network, Experts Not Surprised

The leaked US intelligence documents suggest Russian-backed hackers gained access to Canada’s natural gas distribution network, but experts aren’t surprised. While no company, in particular, was identified in the leaked documents, TC Energy and Enbridge have shared that their infrastructure was unaffected.

Recently, an alleged leak of Pentagon documents onto social media sites showed US and NATO operations in Ukraine. Not only that, they also suggested that Russian-backed hackers successfully accessed Canada’s natural gas infrastructure. Experts have now stated that there is a big difference between gaining access to a company’s network or servers and actually disrupting Canada’s energy supply.

“There’s a big disconnect between gaining access to a computer, in the industrial world and knowing how to make it do physical things. Criminal groups gain access to industrial facilities all the time. But just hitting buttons isn’t necessarily going to cause anything meaningful to happen,” said Lesley Carhart, director of incident response for North America at the industrial cybersecurity company Dragos Inc.

While the leaked documents do not name any company in particular, TC Energy and Enbridge have shared that their infrastructure was unaffected.

Cybersecurity experts in Canada are not surprised by the revelation that the leaked documents suggest the hackers accessed the natural gas distribution network. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said that it was “concerned about the opportunities for critical infrastructure disruption” on internet-connected technology that is related to industrial processes. Furthermore, Geoffrey Cann, a B.C.-based author and speaker added that it would be a surprise if the hackers were not targeting Canadian infrastructure because they are targeting energy infrastructure worldwide routinely.

Vineet Washington