Canada will work with the United States to draft a cyber security certification framework for defence contractors that will be identical for both countries as incidents of malicious hacking increase, the defence minister said on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir "Putin's war on Ukraine has reminded all of us that the cyber domain is crucial to our national security," Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said at CANSEC, an annual defence trade show in Ottawa.
"Here at home, malicious cyber activities have targeted defence contractors and subcontractors across Canada, leaving classified information vulnerable," she said.
Without certification, which should be in place by the end of next year, Canadian suppliers risk being excluded from future international defence procurement opportunities, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The Canadian certification framework will be designed in collaboration with the United States so that defence contractors working in both countries will only need to be certified once, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Bernadette Baum)
