Lyce · Hybrid Watch

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DDoS campaign targeting multiple Canadian sectors.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) issued Alert AL23-014 on 15 September 2023, stating that since 13 September there have been several distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaigns targeting Canadian federal government systems as well as the financial and transportation sectors. The alert points out that open-source reporting links this activity to Russian state-sponsored cyber threat actors, whose tactics, techniques and procedures have been documented previously. The campaigns appear to aim at disrupting access to online services — for example, degrading website performance, making it difficult for users to reach services, thereby undermining confidence in critical infrastructure. The Cyber Centre emphasised that while many of these attacks may be managed by standard DDoS mitigation, the strategic targeting of key economic and infrastructural sectors suggests a broader intent beyond mere nuisance. In its advisory, the Cyber Centre recommended organizations review perimeter defences, isolate web-facing applications and consolidate gateways to mitigate such threats.

Occurrence
2023-09-13
Publication
2023-09-12T22:00:00Z
First observed
2026-09-24T06:09:10.079Z
Review status
Not assessed
Countries
CA
Updated
2026-09-27T23:56:59.668Z

E/M/R/S scores

  • EExistence0/4 · Not assessed
  • MIntent0/4 · Not assessed
  • RRussian actor link0/4 · Not assessed
  • SRussian state responsibility0/4 · Not assessed

Facts

No facts

Sources

  1. Role
    discovery_lead
    Date
    2023-09-12T22:00:00Z

    The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) issued Alert AL23-014 on 15 September 2023, stating that since 13 September there have been several distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaigns targeting Canadian federal government systems as well as the financial and transportation sectors. The alert points out that open-source reporting links this activity to Russian state-sponsored cyber threat actors, whose tactics, techniques and procedures have been documented previously. The campaigns appear to aim at disrupting access to online services — for example, degrading website performance, making it difficult for users to reach services, thereby undermining confidence in critical infrastructure. The Cyber Centre emphasised that while many of these attacks may be managed by standard DDoS mitigation, the strategic targeting of key economic and infrastructural sectors suggests a broader intent beyond mere nuisance. In its advisory, the Cyber Centre recommended organizations review perimeter defences, isolate web-facing applications and consolidate gateways to mitigate such threats.