A ransomware-as-a-service gang, an online foreign extremist group and drug traffickers were separately the targets of offensive operations in 2025, according to Canada's Communications Security Establishment.
Nation-states are increasingly transparent about offensive cyber operations against criminal groups, reflecting evolving cyber warfare doctrines and capabilities.
This indicates a significant pivot by intelligence agencies towards active cyber defense and pre-emptive disruption of cybercriminal and extremist organizations globally.
Government agencies are moving beyond purely defensive cyber postures to proactively hack and disrupt adversaries, blurring the lines between intelligence gathering and direct intervention.
- · Canadian government
- · Law enforcement agencies
- · Cyber defense industry
- · Ransomware-as-a-service gangs
- · Online foreign extremist groups
- · Drug traffickers
- · Cybercrime infrastructure
Increased disruption of criminal cyber activities and extremist networks.
Escalation of cyber conflicts as criminal enterprises adapt or retaliate against state-sponsored hacking.
The development of a new international framework for state-sanctioned offensive cyber operations against non-state actors.
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Read at The Record