Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the invitation to appear today to discuss ideologically motivated violent extremism in Canada.
My name is Artur Wilczynski, and I am the assistant deputy chief of SIGINT at the Communications Security Establishment, known as CSE.
CSE, reporting to the Minister of National Defence, is one of Canada's key security and intelligence agencies, with a mandate to provide foreign intelligence in support of a broad range of government priorities. CSE is also the country's lead technical authority for cybersecurity.
As my colleagues have indicated, the threat landscape as it relates to ideologically motivated violent extremism continues to evolve, amplified through the increased use of the Internet and social media by threat actors. Through these outlets, there has been a surge in violent extremist and terrorist media production, as groups continue to spread their extremist messaging while attempting to recruit like-minded individuals to their cause and planning activities.
Under its foreign intelligence mandate, CSE works to uncover foreign-based extremists' efforts to carry out attacks in Canada and abroad, including those that are ideologically motivated. It is important to emphasize that CSE cannot direct its activities at Canadians or at anyone in Canada. Our efforts must be focused on foreign actors outside Canada.
In addition to foreign intelligence, CSE can provide technical support to key Government of Canada partners, those in national security or federal policing roles as well as defence agencies. Any assistance that we provide is conducted under the authorities of the requesting agency and in alignment with the legal and policy parameters of their mandate.
CSE has a strong and valuable relationship with our international partners. We regularly share information on a wide range of threat actors, including IMVE. This exchange has a significant effect on protecting our respective countries' safety and security.
Addressing ideologically motivated violent extremism requires collaboration from our federal and international partners, and I want to assure you that CSE will continue to work within our mandate and with these partners to support efforts to fight extremism.
Thank you.
I look forward to answering your questions.