By Paul Vieira
The Bank of Canada warned Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has increased the risk of a cyberattack to its financial system.
"Cyberattacks performed in the context of a geopolitical military conflict, which could include targeting a country's financial system, are purposely designed to inflict more damage," the central bank said in its annual Financial System Review publication, which is meant to identify the main vulnerabilities and risks in Canada's financial system.
The central bank said Russia has carried out cyberattacks on Ukraine in addition to its military offensive. "The greater frequency and sophistication of state-sponsored cyberattacks raise the risk that a successful attack in Canada could significantly disrupt the Canadian financial system."
Canada has joined Western allies in imposing a series of economic sanctions against Russia, Belarus, and oligarchs and individuals with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Canada also has pledged loans to Ukraine and military equipment to Ukraine forces. Financial system participants in Canada identified cyberattacks as the top risk their organization faces, according to a related Bank of Canada survey conducted this spring.
In another reference to the conflict in Ukraine, the Bank of Canada said the Russian invasion has complicated efforts to mitigate climate change and could delay a planned shift by economies, such as Canada, to a low-carbon economy. The embargo on Russian energy products could stimulate the production of more-polluting sources of fossil fuel, such as coal, in the short term. "Valuations of carbon-intensive assets appear farther away from where they will need to be in a future low-carbon economy," the bank said.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-09-22 1040ET
