Communications Security Establishment 101

On this Page

• Who We Are...
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
• By the Numbers
• CSE Act: Authorities and Capabilities For CSE
• Oversight
• External Review – NSIRA and NSICOP
• Transparency
• Foreign Signals Intelligence
• The Intelligence Cycle
• Cyber Security
• Technical and Operational Assistance
• Foreign Cyber Operations Authorizations
• Key Partnerships
• Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable
• Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation
• Parliamentary Interest
• Foreign Interference and Threats to Democracy
• Critical Election Incident Public Protocol
• Publications

Who We Are...

• CSE is Canada's foreign signals intelligence agency, and technical authority for cyber security and information assurance.
• CSE includes the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (the Cyber Centre), which is the federal government's operational lead for cyber security.
• CSE's mandate has 5 aspects:
  • Foreign signals intelligence;
  • Cyber security;
  • Active cyber operations;
  • Defensive cyber operations;
  • Technical and operational assistance to federal partners.
• Home of the High Assurance Communications Security (COMSEC).
• Top Secret Enterprise System provider for the Government of Canada.
• A member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
• The Chief/Deputy Minister of CSE reports directly to the Minister of National Defence.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

• CSE strives to foster an inclusive and equitable environment where all employees can thrive.
• In June 2022, the CSE EDI Framework was launched. Over the past year, CSE has used the framework to:
  • Guide CSE's efforts to create a more inclusive organization
  • Promote EDI at all levels and in all activity areas
  • Ensure the right people are at the right tables
  • Bolster the effectiveness of our mission
• In December 2022, CSE launched a sponsorship pilot program which aims to eliminate barriers to advancement experienced by Black, Indigenous and other racialized employees, and to provide Black, Indigenous and other racialized employees with opportunities to help them advance their careers and create equitable career progression processes at CSE. The program has expanded in 2024 to include employees with disabilities.
• In 2023, CSE approved 10 new Inclusion Indicators for the organization. We will begin socializing and using these indicators in 2024/2025.
• CSE has a People and Culture Governance Committee chaired by the Chief of CSE. This governance table oversees the decision making and implementation of initiatives that ensure we are continually moving toward an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture. Members of our affinity groups are invited to this table as representatives of their communities.
• There are 11 affinity groups that work in partnership with the organization. They provide community support and help the organization make changes by providing their perspectives and advocating for their needs. They include:
  • Pride Network
  • Women in Cyber Intelligence (WICI)
  • Access Women's Support Network
  • EmbRACE, including:
    • Black Employee Circle
    • Middle East and North Africa chapter
    • Asian and South Asian Heritage
  • Neurodiversity Group
  • Disability Group
  • Jewish Affinity Group
  • Muslim Affinity Group
  • Reseau franco
  • Code Talkers Circle (Indigenous Heritage)
  • Audible Minorities

Back to top

By the Numbers

CSE Act: Authorities and Capabilities For CSE

Oversight

• The CSE Act establishes a framework for the Minister of National Defence to authorize certain CSE activities through legal instruments known as Ministerial Authorizations (MA).
• The Minister must issue a MA for any Foreign Intelligence or Cybersecurity activities that would otherwise:
  • contravene an Act of Parliament; or,
  • interfere with the reasonable expectation of privacy of a Canadian or anyone in Canada.
• As an added layer of accountability, the Intelligence Commissioner (IC) provides independent external oversight of CSE's Foreign Intelligence and Cybersecurity MAs.
  • The IC reviews the MA and any other information that was given to the Minister and must determine whether the Minister's conclusions are reasonable. CSE cannot carry out the activities until the IC approves the MA.
• The Minister also must issue an MA for any Active Cyber Operations and Defensive Cyber Operations, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs playing a critical role.
  • Active Cyber Operations MAs must receive the consent of the Minister of Foreign Affairs before they are issued by the Minister
  • Defensive Cyber Operations MAs must be consulted with the Minister of Foreign Affairs before they are issued by the Minister
• There are currently 11 active MAs (as of November 2024):
  • 3 Foreign Intelligence MAs
  • 1 Cybersecurity MA (to help protect federal institutions)
  • 3 Cybersecurity MAs (to help protect non-federal institutions)
  • 3 Active Cyber Operations MAs
  • 1 Defensive Cyber Operations MA

External Review – NSIRA and NSICOP

• CSE's activities are subject to external review by two independent external review bodies with a national security and intelligence mandate:
  • The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA): reviews all Government of Canada national security and intelligence activities to ensure that they are lawful, reasonable and necessary.
  • The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP): consists of members from both Houses of Parliament from all major parties with a mandate to review Canada's national security and intelligence organizations.
• During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, CSE contributed to 26 external reviews.
• CSE also held 31 briefings, meetings or interviews with review staff and responded to 317 questions from our review bodies.
• CSE responded to 96% of review questions by the due date.

Transparency

• CSE is committed to working with review bodies, external partners, media outlets and Canadians to promote transparency about our activities as part of the National Security Transparency Commitment.
• The National Security Transparency Advisory Group (NS-TAG) advises government officials on how to strike the balance between transparency and security concerns.
• In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, CSE's transparency activities included:
  • speeches, conferences and public events
  • 6 parliamentary appearances
  • 4 public reports
  • 55 media interviews
  • 4 news conferences
  • 52 Open Government releases
  • 32 Access to Information responses
  • 12 proactive disclosures
  • 110 Order Paper question responses
  • 5,580 social media posts

Back to top

Foreign Signals Intelligence

• CSE is Canada's foreign signals intelligence (SIGINT) agency.
• As Canada's foreign signals intelligence agency, CSE intercepts and analyzes electronic communications and other foreign signals to inform the Government of Canada about the activities of foreign entities that seek to undermine Canada's national security and prosperity.
• CSE's foreign signals intelligence collection is guided by the Government of Canada's intelligence priorities established by Cabinet. Foreign intelligence reports are disseminated to clients across government and also shared with key foreign partners.
• This year, CSE produced and disseminated classified reports on a range of Government of Canada priorities including:
  • Russia's invasion of Ukraine
  • Foreign interference, malign influence
  • Other hostile state activity such as:
    • Espionage
    • Sabotage
    • Intellectual property theft

CSE foreign intelligence reporting in 2023 to 2024

• Reports: 3,142 (from 3,007)
• Clients: 2,137 (from 1,774)
• 28 Federal Departments and agencies (from 27)

The Intelligence Cycle

• CSE produces intelligence from collected signals, such as emails and phone calls.
• The intelligence helps paint the picture, but it is not always the full picture.
• The more intelligence is collected, the clearer the picture is.
• SIGINT is hard to get and very technical.
• Divulging the intelligence can reveal sources and methods and can lead to its loss and to national security and international affairs considerations.
• This intelligence is highly classified, and in some cases very compartmentalized. Should you require access to compartmentalized info, we will provide you with the right process and access.
• We provide our intelligence and collaborate with international partners to provide a larger picture and more benefit to Canada.
• The intelligence is disseminated to those who have the clearance and need to know to see it.
• Anyone who wants to lower the classification of the intelligence, use it, or disseminate it to a wider audience, will have to request the permission of the originating agency, even if it is provided by an international partner.

Cyber Security

• CSE is the technical authority for cybersecurity and information assurance.
• CSE operates the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (The Cyber Centre) as the single, unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support on cyber security for government, critical infrastructure owners and operators, the private sector and the Canadian public.
• CSE designs and operates the Government of Canada Top Secret communications platform.
• The Cyber Centre unites the operational cyber security expertise from Public Safety Canada, Shared Services Canada, and CSE in to one high-functioning, responsive organization.
• The Cyber Centre automated defences protect the Government of Canada an average of 6.6 billion malicious actions a day.
• The Cyber Centre collaborates with various partners including the government, external partners, law enforcement and Canadians.
• 5 key areas:
  • Inform Canada and Canadians about cyber security matters through advice and guidance publications, Get Cyber Safe public awareness campaign, social media and the website.
  • Protect Canadians' cyber security interests through direct hands-on assistance and strong collaborative partnerships, as well as cyber security products.
  • Develop and Share specialized cyber defence technologies and tools.
  • Defend cyber systems, including government systems, against sophisticated and state- sponsored cyber threats by deploying advanced cyber defence solutions.
  • Act as operational leader and government spokesperson during cyber security events.

Technical and Operational Assistance

• Under the CSE Act, CSE is mandated to assist federal law enforcement and security agencies and DND/CAF.
• When assisting federal partners, CSE will have the same authorities and limitations as the requesting agency (e.g. pursuant to judicial warrants or CSIS threat reduction authorities).

Foreign Cyber Operations Authorizations

Active

To carry out activities on or through the global information infrastructure to degrade, disrupt, influence, respond to or interfere with the capabilities, intentions or activities of a foreign individual, state, organization or terrorist group as they relate to Canada's defence, security or international affairs.

Defensive

To take action on or through the global information infrastructure to help protect:

• federal institutions' electronic information and information infrastructures; and
• electronic information and information infrastructures designated by the Minister as being of importance to the Government of Canada.

Key Partnerships

Five Eyes

• Austrailia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• United States

Canada maintains unique, long-standing cryptologic partnerships with the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, leveraging a wealth of knowledge, capabilities and technology.

Canadian priorities are often aligned with Five Eyes partners, so sharing is extensive within the extended SIGINT enterprise.

Domestic Partners

• Department of National Defence (DND)/Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)
• Security and Intelligence Community (CSIS, RCMP, CBSA, Public Safety)
• Central Agencies (Finance, TBS, PCO)
• International Affairs (Global Affairs Canada)
• Cyber Security (SSC, Public Safety, TBS CIO and departmental CIOs)

Back to top

Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable

Budget 2022 was tabled by the Minister of Finance on April 7, 2022.

Specific mentions of CSE can be found in Chapter 5 of the Budget, titled, Enhancing Canada's Cyber Security.

Budget 2022 proposes to provide $875.2 million over five years, beginning in 2022-23, and $238.2 million ongoing for additional measures to address the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape.

These measure include:

• $263.9 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $96.5 million ongoing to enhance CSE's abilities to launch cyber operations to prevent and defend against cyber attacks;
• $180.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $40.6 million ongoing to enhance CSE's abilities to prevent and respond to cyber attacks on critical infrastructure;
• $178.7 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $39.5 million ongoing to expand cyber security protection for small departments, agencies, and Crown corporations; and
• $252.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $61.7 million ongoing for CSE to make critical government systems more resilient to cyber incidents.

Budget 2022 proposes to provide $17.7 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $5.5 million thereafter until 2031-32 for CSE to establish a unique research chair program to fund academics to conduct research on cutting-edge technologies relevant to CSE's activities. Researchers awarded the grants will split their time between peer-reviewed publishable research and classified research at CSE.

Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation

• Budget 2024 was tabled by the Minister of Finance on April 16, 2024.
• Specific Mentions of CSE can be found in Chapter 7 of the Budget, Protecting Canadians and Defending Democracy.
• Investments include:
• $8.1 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $73.0 billion over 20 years to the Department of National Defence (DND), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to ensure Canada is ready to respond to global threats and to protect the well-being of Canadian Armed Forces members. Including:
  • $917.4 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $10.9 billion in future years and $145.8 million per year ongoing, for CSE and GAC to enhance their intelligence and cyber operations programs to protect Canada's economic security and respond to evolving national security threats.
• Budget 2024 also introduced a technical amendment to the Financial Administration Act to align Communications Security Establishment procurement authorities with similar authorities of other national security partners.

Parliamentary Interest

• Over the years, Parliamentary Affairs saw a growing interest for CSE, particularly on topics such as cyber security, COVID-19, foreign interference, 5G and Huawei.
• Committee appearances
  • CSE's openness to the public led to more House Committee appearances.
  • CSE has had 19 appearances in the last Parliamentary session, from September 2023 to October 2024.
    • Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC)
      • June 20, 2024: Question of Privilege Cyber Attacks against Members of Parliament
      • June 6, 2024: Question of Privilege Cyber Attacks against Members of Parliament
    • Standing Committee on National Defence (NDDN)
      • November 21, 2024: Supplementary Estimates B
      • September 28, 2024: Mandate and Priorities
      • April 15, 2024: Defence Policy Update
      • May 27, 2024: Main Estimates
    • Standing Committee on Public Safety (SECU)
      • April 8, 2024: Bill C-26
      • January 29, 2024: Bill C-26
    • Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs (SECD)
      • October 28, 2024, November 25, 2024, and December 2, 2024: Bill C-26
      • April 15, 2024, and December 9, 2024: Russian Disinformation
      • April 8, 2024: National Security Issues
    • Standing Committee on Finance (FINA)
      • June 4, 2024: Bill C-69
      • May 30, 2024: Bill C-69
    • Standing Senate Committee on Finance (NFFN)
      • October 22, 2024: Main Estimates 2024-25
    • Standing Committee on Science and Research (SRSR)
      • October 23, 2023: Use of Federal Government Research and Development Grants, Funds, and Contributions by Canadian Universities and Research Institutions in Partnerships with Entities Connected to the People's Republic of China
    • Standing Committee on Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI)
      • November 20, 2023: Use of Social Media Platforms for Data Harvesting and Unethical or Illicit Sharing of Personal Information with Foreign Entities

Foreign Interference and Threats to Democracy

• Hostile state actors are attempting to influence and interfere with Canada's society and democracy in various ways, including espionage, malicious cyber activity and online disinformation.
• Countering this activity requires a whole of government approach, which CSE actively supports by:
  • providing foreign signals intelligence to Government of Canada decision makers about the intentions, capabilities and activities of foreign-based threat actors
  • defending Canada's federal elections infrastructure from malicious cyber activity
  • proactively helping democratic institutions improve their cyber security
  • sharing unclassified threat assessments with the public
  • sharing information to help Canadians:
  • identify disinformation
  • protect their privacy and security online
• CSE serves on the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, along with CSIS, the RCMP and GAC. CSE's role is to monitor foreign signals intelligence and cyber activity on Government of Canada networks for signs of foreign interference in the electoral process.
• The SITE Task Force continued to meet regularly throughout the past year to:
  • Remain connected as a community
  • Continue to monitor ongoing foreign interference activities

Back to top

Critical Election Incident Public Protocol

Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force

What are we talking about? Covert, clandestine, or criminal activities interfering with or influencing electoral processes in Canada

Publications

CSE Public Annual Reports

• Annual Report 2023-2024
• Annual Report 2022-2023
• Annual Report 2021-2022
• Annual Report 2020-2021
• Annual Report 2019-2020

National Cyber Threat Assessments (NCTA)

• NCTA 2026
• NCTA 2024
• NCTA 2020
• NCTA 2018

Cyber Threats to Canada's Democratic Process Assessments (NCTA)

• 2023 Update – Cyber Threats to Canada'
• 2021 Update - Cyber Threats to Canada's Democratic Process
• 2019 Update - Cyber Threats to Canada's Democratic Process
• 2017 - Cyber Threats

Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) Services

CCCS Hotline

• CCCS Hotline - Ways to protect yourself

Training

• Cyber security considerations for election authorities and administrators
• Cyber security for political party IT decision makers and IT staff

Advice and guidance

• How to Identify Misinformation/Disinformation and Malinformation

Back to top