New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday dismissed Canada’s classification of India as an “ cyber adversary” in its latest National Cyber Threat Assessment, escalating existing diplomatic tensions. The MEA implied that Canada’s report suggests possible state-sponsored cyber surveillance activities by India directed at Canadian targets.
Responding to the report, MEA Spokesperson Randir Jaiswal said, “We see this as yet another Canadian strategy to attack India. Canadian senior officials have openly confessed that they are seeking to manipulate global opinion against India … as on other occasions, these imputations are made without any evidence.”
The Canadian government’s National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, released by the Centre for Cyber Security, claimed, “We assess that Indian state-sponsored cyber threat actors likely conduct cyber threat activity against government of Canada networks for the purpose of espionage.”
“We judge that official bilateral relations between Canada and India will very likely drive Indian state-sponsored cyber threat activity against Canada,” the document added.
Allegations against India
The report also contended that the Indian government is working “to build a modernised cyber programme with domestic cyber capabilities” and “very likely uses its cyber programme to advance its national security imperatives, including espionage, counterterrorism, and the country’s efforts to promote its global status and counter narratives against India and the Indian government.” Additionally, it said, “We assess that India’s cyber programme likely leverages commercial cyber vendors to enhance its operations.”
India-Canada diplomatic row
The MEA has strongly objected to recent claims by Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison, alleging that Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed operations against Sikh separatists in Canada. In response, a Canadian High Commission official was summoned on Friday and handed a diplomatic note condemning the “absurd and baseless” accusations. MEA spokesperson Jaiswal warned that such actions could seriously harm India-Canada relations. Tensions between the two countries have been rising since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed last year in Parliament that there were “credible allegations” linking India to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
