India slams Canada for calling it a ‘cyber threat’ along with Russia and China

A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official hit back on Saturday after the Canadian government under Justin Trudeau called India a “cyber adversary”, escalating an already tense diplomatic standoff.

Canada included the definition in its 2025-26 National Cyber ​​Threat Assessment, released by the Canadian Cyber ​​Security Center on Tuesday.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal took issue with Canada’s new classification of India, lumping it with countries such as Russia, China and North Korea. He called the move another “attack” on India. “This seems to be another example of Canada’s strategy to attack India. As I have mentioned earlier, their senior officials have openly admitted that they seek to manipulate world opinion against India. As in other cases, allegations are made without any evidence,” Jaiswal said.

According to Reuters, Canada’s signals intelligence agency, which tracks foreign cyber threats, suggested on Wednesday that India may already be engaging in cyber activities that threaten Canadian networks, allegedly for espionage purposes.

The report quoted Canada’s Chief of Communications Security (CSE), Caroline Xavier, as saying, “As there are potentially some tensions between Canada and India, we may see India looking to take these cyber-threat actions against Canadians.”

India has also accused Canada of “harassment and intimidation” through audio and video surveillance of its consular staff, which it says violates diplomatic norms.

Responding to a question during a press briefing, Jaiswal said, “Yes, the Canadian government recently informed some of our consular staff that they were and continue to be under audio and video surveillance. Their communication was also intercepted. We have officially protested to the Canadian government, as we consider these actions to be a gross violation of the relevant diplomatic and consular conventions.”

Jaiswal also criticized Canada, saying, “The Canadian government cannot justify the fact that it condones harassment and intimidation.” Relations between the two countries have soured since Trudeau said last September that Indian agents may have been involved in the killing of Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijar.

(Courtesy of agencies)