Major security changes coming to Canada’s National Microbiology Lab following breach
Posted June 5, 2024 7:17 pm.
Staff at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory have now been filled in on new security measures set to be implemented at the high-security facility, an “all-staff” town hall held earlier today detailing many of the changes, which include security zones, a modernized guard desk, and 24/7 random x-ray checks.
The security enhancements, details of which obtained by CityNews, are being put in place to “further strengthen [the lab’s] security posture.” It also includes things like secure lockers for visitors and enhanced rationale requirements for people trying to garner higher privileges – both in the lab and within its internal systems.
One expert says the improvements are a sign the feds are taking a hard look at how it keeps its national assets secure.
“It signals to me that they may feel the security procedures they had previously were not up to what they actually needed,” said Assistant Professor Bryan Peeler
“It signals that the government now feels that these are very serious issues and going forward … as a government, they need to take these more seriously, and probably that the security measures that were in place before weren’t up to what was required.”
Peeler says as global actors continue to try and infiltrate agencies of importance, security has to adapt.
“The unfortunate thing with these sorts of things is we’re not going to know until something bad happens in the future, and that’s something we can’t know. So all I can sort of say at the moment, is hopefully, these are the correct measures that need to be put in place.”
The new security measures also include updated procedures around working with “visitors and collaborators” at the lab and more intense processes for the “review/approval” of international collaborations.
The all-staff town hall comes just months after a parliamentary report detailed in February how two scientists Keding Cheng and Xiangguo Qiu, fired in 2021, still had strong ties and loyalty to the People’s Republic of China while they worked at the National Microbiology Laboratory.
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NDP MP Leah Gazan said in a statement her party wants to prevent foreign interference in Canada’s labs and government institutions, pointing to what she says are “glaring problems” as identified by the Foreign Interference Commission under the watch of the previous government, saying, “Canadians want to know why it took nine years for the Liberals to upgrade security features at the lab.”
Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre said in a statement the fact the lab continues to experience security issues is “deeply concerning,” but says it’s no surprise as “Justin Trudeau has failed to take our national security seriously from the very beginning.”
In a statement the Public Health Agency of Canada says security improvements have taken place in the past, things like enhanced screening measures and visitor monitoring, with the improvements ongoing, stating the lab is “continually evaluating the threat environment and adjusting security measures accordingly. This aligns with broader Government of Canada efforts to protect Canadian research.”
