Good afternoon, Madam Chair and committee members. Thank you for the invitation to appear today, from my dining room, to discuss pandemic-related cyber-fraud.
I am Scott Jones and I am the head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security at the Communications Security Establishment. CSE is one of Canada's key intelligence agencies and the country's lead technical authority for cybersecurity. Launched in October 2018, the cyber centre is a relatively new organization, but one with a rich history and over 70 years of cybersecurity experience, having previously functioned under CSE's long-standing IT security mandate. The cyber centre is a unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support on cybersecurity operational matters, providing Canadian citizens and businesses with a clear and trusted place to turn to for cybersecurity advice.
Specifically, the cyber centre focuses on five main areas. We first inform Canada and Canadians about cybersecurity matters. Second, we protect Canadians' cybersecurity interests through targeted advice, guidance, hands-on assistance and strong collaborative partnerships. Third, we develop and share specialized cyber-defence technologies and tools, resulting in better cybersecurity for all Canadians. Fourth, we defend cyber systems, including government systems, by deploying sophisticated cyber-defence solutions. Fifth, we act as the operational leader and government spokesperson during cybersecurity events.
That point brings me to the specific topic of today's discussion, to speak to you about cybersecurity when it comes to COVID-19. As we noted in the national cyber-threat assessment in 2018, the biggest threat facing Canadians online is cybercrime. I would like to provide the committee with an update on the work that the cyber centre is doing to protect Canadians from cyber-fraud occurring before, during and after the pandemic.
During these uncertain times, cyber-threat actors are attempting to take advantage of Canadians' heightened levels of concern and fears around COVID-19. Many Canadians are naturally feeling fearful and stressed, and those emotional responses can be exploited online. We've seen an increase in reports of malicious actors using COVID-19 in phishing campaigns and malware scams.
COVID has presented cybercriminals and fraudsters with an effective lure to encourage victims to visit fake sites, open email attachments and click on text messaging links. These websites, emails and links frequently impersonate health organizations and can pretend to be from the Government of Canada, among others. They are trying to spread malware and scam Canadians out of their money or private data.
The cyber centre has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic presents an elevated level of risk to the cybersecurity of Canadian health organizations involved in the national response to the pandemic. I want to reassure you that CSE and the cyber centre are working hard to mitigate these threats and protect Canadians.
I am pleased to share with you the steps we're taking to protect the Government of Canada, systems of importance, and all Canadians from cyber-fraud during these times. We continue to leverage all aspects of our mandate to ensure that Canada is protected against threats and that the Government of Canada has access to information that can help inform decisions on our approach to COVID-19. The cyber centre is working tirelessly to continuously raise public awareness of cyber-threats to Canadian health organizations by proactively issuing cyber-threat alerts and providing tailored advice and guidance to Canadian health organizations, government partners and industry stakeholders.
In addition to our advice and guidance for Canadian organizations, we continue to enhance the Get Cyber Safe campaign to help all Canadians take action to help themselves be safe online. In coordination with industry partners and the international network of cybersecurity organizations, the cyber centre is contributing to the removal of fraudulent sites and other materials used to lure Canadians, including sites impersonating the Government of Canada.
To support programs of importance to the government, we have also continued to monitor and protect important Government of Canada programs against cyber-threats, including the Canada emergency response benefit web application. [Technical difficulty—Editor]