Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that India’s tone towards the allegations of Canadian involvement in a cyberattack on an Indian nuclear facility has “shifted” after the US Department of Justice indicted four Chinese nationals for the same incident.
The US indictment, announced on Thursday, accused the four Chinese hackers of working with the Chinese Ministry of State Security to conduct a global campaign of cyber espionage, targeting dozens of entities in various sectors, including India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in 2019.
India had previously blamed Canada for the cyberattack, citing a report by a private cybersecurity firm that claimed to have traced the origin of the malware to a server in Canada. India had also summoned the Canadian High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest over the incident, which it said was a “serious threat” to its national security and sovereignty.
However, Trudeau said that India’s stance has changed after the US indictment, which he said “clearly demonstrates” that Canada was not involved in the cyberattack.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi a few days ago, and we had a very positive conversation on a range of issues, including this one,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “I think the tone has shifted now that there is more clarity around who actually carried out this cyberattack.”
Trudeau added that Canada and India have a “strong and growing” relationship, and that he looks forward to working with Modi to “deepen our cooperation on security, trade, climate change, and other areas of mutual interest.”
The US indictment also named several other victims of the Chinese hackers, including a US oil and gas company, a German software firm, a Belgian engineering company, and a British artificial intelligence company.
The US Department of Justice said that the hackers’ activities “facilitated the theft of trade secrets, intellectual property, and confidential business information” and “advantaged China’s development of advanced technologies and capabilities.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied the allegations and called them “fabricated” and “politically motivated.” It also accused the US of being the “world’s largest source of cyberattacks” and urged it to “stop smearing China on cybersecurity issues.”
