Public Safety Canada and other unspecified departments will develop a plan in the upcoming fiscal year to prevent “the loss of valuable intellectual property, military and dual-use technology, sensitive personal information, and compromised critical infrastructure.” (The Logic)

Talking point: Pre-pandemic, CSIS warned that economic espionage by foreign agents was a growing threat, particularly in disruptive sectors such as AI, quantum technology and biopharmaceuticals. In June 2020, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said it expected IP related to COVID-19 vaccines, testing and medical devices to be targeted. Researchers in such fields have seen the volume of cyber attacks increase. There’s precedent: some former Nortel employees claim hackers linked to the Chinese government repeatedly breached the telecom equipment company in the 1990s and 2000s to help Huawei; Beijing denies spying to benefit domestic firms.