Canada must treat fighting espionage as a national priority

In August, Australia’s chief spy-catcher, Mike Burgess, revealed a startling figure: foreign espionage drained the country of an astounding $12.5 billion in the past year.

These weren’t hypothetical estimates. They were tied to real espionage operations uncovered by Australia’s intelligence community, including 24 major incidents.

In one case, hackers working for a foreign government breached the computer network of a leading Australian exporter, stealing sensitive files that gave their country a decisive edge in contract negotiations. The result: hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for the Australian trader.

In another, an Australian defence firm’s product blueprints were stolen after a foreign operative, masquerading as a client, slipped a malware-infected USB stick into