Canada to lead anti-cyber attack effort

The government of Canada, alongside Microsoft and the Alliance for Securing Democracy, will lead a global effort to counter the use of cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns to disrupt elections, officials announced Tuesday.

Dominic LeBlanc, president of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, said that his nation would become one of the leads on countering election interference as part of the 2018 Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace.

“Canada’s leadership in the Paris Call will help build global expertise and understanding about the best way to combat online disinformation and malicious cyber activities in the context of election interference,” LeBlanc said in a statement.

International cooperation: The 2018 agreement — which is backed by almost 80 countries, 29 local governments, and over 600 private sector groups — called for the world to tackle cyber threats ranging from cracking down on intellectual property theft to strengthening international cyber standards to protecting elections.

The agreement was launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, with other governments participating including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, and Mexico. The United States as a whole did not sign on, though Colorado, Virginia and Washington have backed it.

As part of the effort, the government of Canada and other groups involved will put together best practices to help governments counter election interference, and participate in events aimed at increasing the ability of the international community to address election threats.

Microsoft and the Alliance for Securing Democracy will co-lead the effort to secure elections alongside Canada.

Microsoft President Brad Smith on Tuesday described election security as “one of the most important issues of our time.”