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107-732: Formally administered under the Department of National Defence (DND), the CSE is now a separate agency under the National Defence portfolio. The CSE is accountable to the Minister of National Defence through its deputy head, the Chief of CSE. The National Defence Minister is in turn accountable to the Cabinet and Parliament . The current Chief of the CSE is Caroline Xavier , who assumed

214-741: A Cray X-MP/11 (modified) supercomputer delivered to the Sir Leonard Tilley building in March 1985 and the hiring of code breaking analysts. It was, at the time, the most powerful computer in Canada. In the early 1990s, the Establishment purchased a Floating Point Systems FPS 522-EA supercomputer at a cost of $ 1,620,371. This machine was upgraded to a Cray S-MP superserver after Cray acquired Floating Point Systems in December 1991 and used

321-665: A Canadian computer security standard among other goals. This led to the publication of the Canadian Trusted Computer Product Evaluation Criteria . Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Canada's Anti-terrorism Act ( ATA ) was ratified, receiving royal assent on 18 December 2001. It amended the National Defence Act to formally acknowledge and mandate the activities of CSE. It also made amendments to

428-426: A central point, or perhaps to a distributed system in which all participate, such that the information can be correlated and a location computed. Modern SIGINT systems, therefore, have substantial communications among intercept platforms. Even if some platforms are clandestine, there is still a broadcast of information telling them where and how to look for signals. A United States targeting system under development in

535-472: A confirmation, followed by observation of artillery fire, may identify an automated counterbattery fire system. A radio signal that triggers navigational beacons could be a radio landing aid for an airstrip or helicopter pad that is intended to be low-profile. Patterns do emerge. A radio signal with certain characteristics, originating from a fixed headquarters, may strongly suggest that a particular unit will soon move out of its regular base. The contents of

642-458: A different ECCM way to identify frequencies not being jammed or not in use. The earliest, and still common, means of direction finding is to use directional antennas as goniometers , so that a line can be drawn from the receiver through the position of the signal of interest. (See HF/DF .) Knowing the compass bearing, from a single point, to the transmitter does not locate it. Where the bearings from multiple points, using goniometry, are plotted on

749-624: A logo to identify its products and publications. The triangle represented threats, while the arc symbolized protection. Unique within Canada's security and intelligence community, the Communications Security Establishment employs code-makers and code-breakers ( cryptanalysis ) to provide the Government of Canada with information technology security (IT Security) and foreign signals intelligence services. CSE also provides technical and operational assistance to

856-640: A lower level, German cryptanalysis, direction finding, and traffic analysis were vital to Rommel's early successes in the Western Desert Campaign until British forces tightened their communications discipline and Australian raiders destroyed his principle SIGINT Company. The United States Department of Defense has defined the term "signals intelligence" as: Being a broad field, SIGINT has many sub-disciplines. The two main ones are communications intelligence (COMINT) and electronic intelligence (ELINT). A collection system has to know to look for

963-407: A map, the transmitter will be located at the point where the bearings intersect. This is the simplest case; a target may try to confuse listeners by having multiple transmitters, giving the same signal from different locations, switching on and off in a pattern known to their user but apparently random to the listener. Individual directional antennas have to be manually or automatically turned to find

1070-509: A message written in the new ADFGVX cipher , which was cryptanalyzed by Georges Painvin . This gave the Allies advance warning of the German 1918 Spring Offensive . The British in particular, built up great expertise in the newly emerging field of signals intelligence and codebreaking (synonymous with cryptanalysis). On the declaration of war, Britain cut all German undersea cables. This forced

1177-412: A much broader range of client departments. While these continue to be key intelligence priorities for Government of Canada decision-makers, increasing focus on protecting the safety of Canadians is prompting greater interest in intelligence on transnational issues, including terrorism . CSE code breaking capabilities degraded substantially in the 1960s and 1970s but were upgraded with the acquisition of

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1284-648: A particular signal. "System", in this context, has several nuances. Targeting is the process of developing collection requirements : First, atmospheric conditions, sunspots , the target's transmission schedule and antenna characteristics, and other factors create uncertainty that a given signal intercept sensor will be able to "hear" the signal of interest, even with a geographically fixed target and an opponent making no attempt to evade interception. Basic countermeasures against interception include frequent changing of radio frequency , polarization , and other transmission characteristics. An intercept aircraft could not get off

1391-493: A public function "to advise as to the security of codes and cyphers used by all Government departments and to assist in their provision", but also with a secret directive to "study the methods of cypher communications used by foreign powers". GC&CS officially formed on 1 November 1919, and produced its first decrypt on 19 October. By 1940, GC&CS was working on the diplomatic codes and ciphers of 26 countries, tackling over 150 diplomatic cryptosystems. The US Cipher Bureau

1498-401: A radar is operating. Once the radar is known to be in the area, the next step is to find its location. If operators know the probable frequencies of transmissions of interest, they may use a set of receivers, preset to the frequencies of interest. These are the frequency (horizontal axis) versus power (vertical axis) produced at the transmitter, before any filtering of signals that do not add to

1605-401: A safe distance from the user of the transmitter. When locations are known, usage patterns may emerge, from which inferences may be drawn. Traffic analysis is the discipline of drawing patterns from information flow among a set of senders and receivers, whether those senders and receivers are designated by location determined through direction finding , by addressee and sender identifications in

1712-404: A sensor is unique. MASINT then becomes more informative, as individual transmitters and antennas may have unique side lobes, unintentional radiation, pulse timing, etc. Network build-up , or analysis of emitters (communication transmitters) in a target region over a sufficient period of time, enables creation of the communications flows of a battlefield. COMINT ( com munications int elligence)

1819-426: A tactical SIGINT requirement, whereas the larger aircraft tend to be assigned strategic/national missions. Before the detailed process of targeting begins, someone has to decide there is a value in collecting information about something. While it would be possible to direct signals intelligence collection at a major sports event, the systems would capture a great deal of noise, news signals, and perhaps announcements in

1926-478: A tank battalion or tank-heavy task force. Another set of transmitters might identify the logistic net for that same unit. An inventory of ELINT sources might identify the medium - and long-range counter-artillery radars in a given area. Signals intelligence units will identify changes in the EOB, which might indicate enemy unit movement, changes in command relationships, and increases or decreases in capability. Using

2033-539: A unit under the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the agency is Canada's computer emergency response team (CSIRT) and the Canadian government's computer Incident response team (CIRT). Officially created on 1 October 2018, CCCS consolidated the existing operational cyber-security units of several federal government organizations, including Public Safety Canada 's Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre, Shared Services Canada 's Security Operations Centre, and

2140-411: A vehicle. If these are regular reports over a period of time, they might reveal a patrol pattern. Direction-finding and radio frequency MASINT could help confirm that the traffic is not deception. The EOB buildup process is divided as following: Separation of the intercepted spectrum and the signals intercepted from each sensor must take place in an extremely small period of time, in order to separate

2247-578: Is Amplitude comparison . An alternative to tunable directional antennas or large omnidirectional arrays such as the Wullenweber is to measure the time of arrival of the signal at multiple points, using GPS or a similar method to have precise time synchronization. Receivers can be on ground stations, ships, aircraft, or satellites, giving great flexibility. A more accurate approach is Interferometer. Modern anti-radiation missiles can home in on and attack transmitters; military antennas are rarely

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2354-625: Is a research institute programme of the Government of Canada responsible for conducting classified research in the areas of cryptology and knowledge discovery to support the Canadian Cryptologic Program and its Five-Eyes international partners. Though officially founded in 2009, TIMC officially opened and formally named in September 2011. Named after cryptanalyst and mathematician William T. Tutte , TIMC

2461-417: Is a sub-category of signals intelligence that engages in dealing with messages or voice information derived from the interception of foreign communications. COMINT is commonly referred to as SIGINT, which can cause confusion when talking about the broader intelligence disciplines. The US Joint Chiefs of Staff defines it as "Technical information and intelligence derived from foreign communications by other than

2568-415: Is acquired by a given country. Knowledge of physics and electronic engineering further narrows the problem of what types of equipment might be in use. An intelligence aircraft flying well outside the borders of another country will listen for long-range search radars, not short-range fire control radars that would be used by a mobile air defense. Soldiers scouting the front lines of another army know that

2675-733: Is also a member of the Cabinet, also exists and takes on files as assigned by the minister of national defence. Since forming government in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has assigned the post of associate minister as an additional role of the minister of veterans affairs , who heads Veterans Affairs Canada , another department outside the Defence Portfolio. 45°25′24″N 75°41′21″W  /  45.423339°N 75.68924°W  / 45.423339; -75.68924 Signals intelligence Signals intelligence ( SIGINT )

2782-677: Is based within CSE's Edward Drake Building in Ottawa . Sponsored and funded by the Communications Security Establishment, the institute is partnered with Institutes for Defence Analyses , CCR Princeton, CCR La Jolla, CCS Bowie, the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research , Carleton University , and the University of Calgary and is working to create partnerships with other research institutes, government agencies and universities. Researchers Leland McInnes and John Healy at

2889-494: Is currently held by Raj Thuppal , who is also the department's Defence Champion for Persons with Disabilities. The CIO reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services), referred to as ADM(RS), oversees changes and reviews requested policies and promote improvements to Canadian operations at home and abroad. The position is currently held by Julie Charron , who reports directly to

2996-543: Is in the general area of the signal. The owner of the transmitter can assume someone is listening, so might set up tank radios in an area where he wants the other side to believe he has actual tanks. As part of Operation Quicksilver , part of the deception plan for the invasion of Europe at the Battle of Normandy , radio transmissions simulated the headquarters and subordinate units of the fictitious First United States Army Group (FUSAG), commanded by George S. Patton , to make

3103-474: Is not limited to recruitment, retention strategies, employment offers, and staffing policies. The position has been held by Isabelle Desmartis since 2016 and reports directly to the Minister of National Defence. The Canadian Armed Forces is a separate and distinct military organization which works closely with, but is not a part of, the civilian department. The military comprises a variety of commands including

3210-448: Is possible that some of these models have been used by the CSE and are in use today. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security ( CCCS or Cyber Centre ; French : Centre Canadien pour la Cyber Sécurité ) is the Government of Canada authority responsible for monitoring threats , protecting national critical infrastructure against cyber incidents, and coordinating the national response to any incidents related to cyber security . As

3317-433: Is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of signals , whether communications between people ( communications intelligence —abbreviated to COMINT ) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( electronic intelligence —abbreviated to ELINT ). As classified and sensitive information is usually encrypted , signals intelligence may necessarily involve cryptanalysis (to decipher

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3424-421: Is the department with the largest number of buildings (6,806 in 2015). The department is responsible to Parliament through the minister of national defence  – Bill Blair as of February 2024. The deputy minister of National Defence, the senior most civil servant within the department, is responsible for the day-to-day leadership and operations of the department and reports directly to

3531-640: The Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act . In December 2001, the Canadian government passed omnibus bill C-36 into law as the Anti-Terrorism Act . The Act amended portions of the National Defence Act and officially recognized CSE's three-part mandate: The Anti-Terrorism Act also strengthened CSE's capacity to engage in the war on terrorism by providing needed authorities to fulfill its mandate. In

3638-858: The Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act , the Criminal Code , and the Official Secrets Act (later the Security of Information Act ). In early 2008, in line with the Federal Identity Program (FIP) of the Government of Canada, which requires all federal agencies to have the word Canada in their name, CSE adopted the applied title Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC; French : Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications Canada , CSTC). Since mid-2014,

3745-613: The National Security Act 2017 . Coming into force two months later, in August, the act set out the mandate and powers of CSE. As part of the omnibus bill, oversight of CSE activities was assumed by the newly created National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA). On October 11, 2023, CSE Chief Caroline Xavier said in an interview with CBC News that CSE offices in various cities may be opened to alleviate staffing shortages. CSE uses generic identifiers imposed by

3852-404: The National Security Act 2017 . The Act, which came into force two months after passing, notes that there are five aspects of CSE's mandate: The CSE Act requires that CSE activities do not target Canadians anywhere in the world, or any person in Canada, "unless there are reasons to believe that there is an imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm. The Act also requires the CSE protect

3959-477: The Canadian Armed Forces in its role of defending Canadian national interests domestically and internationally. The department is a civilian organization, part of the public service , and supports the armed forces; however, as a civilian organization is separate and not part of the military itself. National Defence is the largest department of the Government of Canada in terms of budget, and it

4066-673: The Cold War , the CBNRC was primarily responsible for providing SIGINT data to the Department of National Defence regarding the military operations of the Soviet Union . In February 1950, R. S. McLaren was appointed the first CBNRC Senior Liaison Officer (CBSLO) to Washington, D.C. In March 1962: CBNRC installed its first IBM supercomputer , costing CA$ 372k. In December 1964, CBNRC began collaboration on "Canadian ALVIS" (CID 610),

4173-528: The Federal Identity Program . However, CSE is one of several federal departments and agencies (primarily those having law enforcement, security or regulatory functions) that have been granted a badge by the Canadian Heraldic Authority . The badge was granted in 1994, while CSE's pennant was first raised in 1996 to mark the organization's 50th anniversary. From the 1990s to the mid 2000s, CSE's Information Technology Security program used

4280-695: The House of Common and an admission by the Canadian government that the organization existed. In 1975, the CBNRC was transferred to the Department of National Defence (DND) by an Order in Council , and became the Communications Security Establishment. CSE was now publicly known, and had diversified since the Cold War becoming the primary SIGINT resource in Canada. In 1988, CSE created the Canadian System Security Centre to establish

4387-588: The North Sea . The battle of Dogger Bank was won in no small part due to the intercepts that allowed the Navy to position its ships in the right place. It played a vital role in subsequent naval clashes, including at the Battle of Jutland as the British fleet was sent out to intercept them. The direction-finding capability allowed for the tracking and location of German ships, submarines, and Zeppelins . The system

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4494-719: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and federal law enforcement and security agencies, including the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority . CSE relies on its closest foreign intelligence allies, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand to share the collection burden and the resulting intelligence yield. Canada is a substantial beneficiary and participant of

4601-539: The Royal Canadian Navy , Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force , and is led by the chief of the defence staff , who is under the direction of the minister of national defence. There are also a variety of offices and support organizations which report to both the chief of defence staff and the deputy minister. The legal military chain of command within the Canadian Forces originates from

4708-707: The Second World War , in June 1941, as a branch of the National Research Council . It was the first civilian office in Canada solely dedicated to decryption of communications signals; until then, SIGINT was entirely within the purview of the Canadian military , and mostly limited to intercepts . In March 1942, XU moved next door to Laurier House in Sandy Hill, Ottawa ; this location

4815-418: The king , represented by the governor general , who is commander-in-chief . The appointment of the minister, deputy minister, chief of the defence staff and the granting of all commissions in the Canadian Forces are made on behalf of the king. One of the roles of the Department of National Defence is to support the minister of national defence in the administration of the 'Defence Portfolio', which comprises

4922-532: The post office and Marconi stations, grew rapidly to the point where the British could intercept almost all official German messages. The German fleet was in the habit each day of wirelessing the exact position of each ship and giving regular position reports when at sea. It was possible to build up a precise picture of the normal operation of the High Seas Fleet , to infer from the routes they chose where defensive minefields had been placed and where it

5029-508: The privacy of Canadians and persons in Canada. As such, CSE is forbidden, by law, to intercept domestic communications. When intercepting communications between a domestic and foreign source, the domestic communications are destroyed or otherwise ignored. (After the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, however, CSE's powers expanded to allow the interception of foreign communications that begin or end in Canada, as long as

5136-596: The 2007 Proceedings of the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence , then-CSE Chief John Adams indicated that the CSE is collecting communications data when he suggested that the legislation was not perfect in regard to interception of information relating to the "envelope." In June 2019, the Communications Security Establishment Act ( CSE Act ) was passed, as part of

5243-549: The British forces in World War II came under the code name " Ultra ", managed from Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park . Properly used, the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers should have been virtually unbreakable, but flaws in German cryptographic procedures, and poor discipline among the personnel carrying them out, created vulnerabilities which made Bletchley's attacks feasible. Bletchley's work

5350-609: The British were the only people transmitting at the time, the British did not need special interpretation of the signals that they were. The birth of signals intelligence in a modern sense dates from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. As the Russian fleet prepared for conflict with Japan in 1904, the British ship HMS Diana stationed in the Suez Canal intercepted Russian naval wireless signals being sent out for

5457-548: The COMINT gathering method enables the intelligence officer to produce an electronic order of battle by traffic analysis and content analysis among several enemy units. For example, if the following messages were intercepted: This sequence shows that there are two units in the battlefield, unit 1 is mobile, while unit 2 is in a higher hierarchical level, perhaps a command post. One can also understand that unit 1 moved from one point to another which are distant from each 20 minutes with

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5564-451: The CSE's Information Technology Security branch. Formerly known as communications security (COMSEC), the CSE's Information Technology Security branch grew out of a need to protect sensitive information transmitted by various agencies of the government, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), DND, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The Cyber Centre

5671-557: The Canadian Armed Forces as well as property management, infrastructure and environmental needs related to the department. The position has been held by Rob Chambers since 2019 and reports directly to the Minister of National Defence. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources - Civilian), referred to as ADM(HR-Civ), oversees all the human resources needs of the Defence Teams civilian members which includes but

5778-544: The Canadian Armed Forces, the Communications Security Establishment , Defence Research and Development Canada , and the Department of National Defence. These organizations are responsible to the minister. The department is not responsible for all of these organizations itself but rather exists to support the minister in carrying out the minister's duties within the Defence Portfolio. The post of associate minister of national defence , who

5885-699: The Defence Team. The Department of National Defence is led by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, currently, Stefanie Beck. The Deputy Minister is chosen by the cabinet through the recommendation of the Prime Minister at that time. The Deputy Minister will stay in their position regardless of whether the cabinet or Prime Minister has changed. The Deputy Minister has a varying amount of Assistant Deputy Ministers (referred to as ADMs), Chiefs, and Associates that oversee various tasks within

5992-505: The Deputy Minister gives them. The position is currently held by Natasha Kim , who reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Public affairs), referred to as ADM(PA), oversee communications related tasks such as advice and guidance in relation to Canada's defences. The position is currently held by Taylor Paxton , who reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Defence Research and Development Canada), referred to as ADM(DRDC), oversees

6099-461: The Deputy Minister. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Data, Innovation, and Analytics), referred to as ADM(DIA), oversees data decision taken by the department as well as overseeing its integration into the department and analytics. The position is currently held by Stephen Burt, who reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy), referred to as ADM(Pol), oversees defence policy proceedings, developments, and support for

6206-741: The Folklore Operating System supplied by the NSA in the US. These machines are now retired. Little information is available on the types of computers used by the CSE since then. However, Cray in the US has produced a number of improved supercomputers since then. These include the Cray SX-6, early 2000s, the Cray X1 , 2003 (development funded in part by the NSA), Cray XD1 , 2004, Cray XT3, Cray XT4 , 2006, Cray XMt, 2006 and Cray CX1, 2008. It

6313-438: The German defense think that the main invasion was to come at another location. In like manner, fake radio transmissions from Japanese aircraft carriers, before the Battle of Pearl Harbor , were made from Japanese local waters, while the attacking ships moved under strict radio silence. Traffic analysis need not focus on human communications. For example, a sequence of a radar signal, followed by an exchange of targeting data and

6420-515: The Germans to communicate exclusively via either (A) a telegraph line that connected through the British network and thus could be tapped; or (B) through radio which the British could then intercept. Rear Admiral Henry Oliver appointed Sir Alfred Ewing to establish an interception and decryption service at the Admiralty ; Room 40 . An interception service known as 'Y' service , together with

6527-466: The Minister of National Defence. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Material), referred to as ADM(Mat), oversees all Material acquisitions and service that are needed by the department or Canadian Armed Forces. The position has been held by Troy Crosby since 2019 and he reports directly to the Minister of National Defence. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure & Environment), referred to as ADM(IE), oversees real estates acquisitions and needs for

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6634-476: The Parliament of Canada on June 28, 1922. Both the Canadian Armed Forces (military) and the Department of National Defence (civilian public servants) are, although two separate organizations, known collectively as the 'Defence Team' as both institutions work closely together in the defence of Canada. The minister of national defence, as the Cabinet minister responsible to Parliament for National Defence, heads

6741-462: The RCCS in 1941 and located just south of Ottawa. In 1946, the station's complement was 75 personnel (compared to its around 2,000 employees in 2013–2014). This unit successfully decrypted , translated, and analyzed these foreign signals, and turned that raw information into useful intelligence reports during the course of the war. CBNRC finally began domestic COMSEC efforts on 1 January 1947. During

6848-558: The Tilley Building in June 1961. On 26 February 2015, CSE officially inaugurated the Edward Drake Building, named for Lt. Colonel Edward Drake, a pioneer of the Canadian signals intelligence . With the rapid expansion in the number of CSE personnel since the 9/11 attack in the US, the CSE has built new facilities. A new CA$ 1.2 billion facility, encompassing 72,000 square metres (18 acres), has been built in

6955-593: The Tutte Institute developed a technique called Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP), originally designed to analyze malware . The algorithm and software of UMAP has since been released by TIMC to the open-source community , and is now being used to answer questions about COVID-19 . CSE occupies several buildings in Ottawa , including the Edward Drake Building and the neighbouring Sir Leonard Tilley Building . CSE moved to

7062-453: The actual information is at 800 kHz and 1.2 MHz. Real-world transmitters and receivers usually are directional. In the figure to the left, assume that each display is connected to a spectrum analyzer connected to a directional antenna aimed in the indicated direction. Spread-spectrum communications is an electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) technique to defeat looking for particular frequencies. Spectrum analysis can be used in

7169-645: The army in France in 1915. By May 1915, the Admiralty was able to track German submarines crossing the North Sea. Some of these stations also acted as 'Y' stations to collect German messages, but a new section was created within Room 40 to plot the positions of ships from the directional reports. Room 40 played an important role in several naval engagements during the war, notably in detecting major German sorties into

7276-416: The broader organizational order of battle . EOB covers both COMINT and ELINT. The Defense Intelligence Agency maintains an EOB by location. The Joint Spectrum Center (JSC) of the Defense Information Systems Agency supplements this location database with five more technical databases: For example, several voice transmitters might be identified as the command net (i.e., top commander and direct reports) in

7383-593: The civilian Examination Unit (XU) and the military Joint Discrimination Unit (JDU) and was located at LaSalle Academy . With Edward Drake as its first director, the agency worked with intercepted foreign electronic communications , collected largely from the Royal Canadian Signal Corps (RCCS) station at Rockcliffe Airport in Ottawa. CSE also worked with Canadian Forces Station Leitrim (CFS Leitrim; formerly 1 Special Wireless Station till 1949, and Ottawa Wireless Station till 1966), Canada's oldest operational signal intelligence (SIGINT) collection station, established by

7490-423: The collaborative effort within the partnership to collect and report on foreign communications. During the Cold War , CSE's primary client for signals intelligence was National Defence, and its focus was the military operations of the then Soviet Union . Since the end of the Cold War, Government of Canada requirements have evolved to include a wide variety of political, defence, and security issues of interest to

7597-446: The decision to target is made, the various interception points need to cooperate, since resources are limited. Knowing what interception equipment to use becomes easier when a target country buys its radars and radios from known manufacturers, or is given them as military aid . National intelligence services keep libraries of devices manufactured by their own country and others, and then use a variety of techniques to learn what equipment

7704-515: The department and the Canadian Armed Forces. The position has been held by Peter Hammerschmidt since 2017 and he reports directly to the Minister of National Defence. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Finance), referred to as ADM(Fin) or Chief Financial Officer, oversees all financial dealings within the department including but not limited to financial management, budget approvals, financial reallocation, and financial support. The position has been held by Cheri Crosby since 2019 and she reports directly to

7811-621: The department ranging from Material Acquisition to Information Management to Public Affairs. There are 3 other offices that operate under the Deputy Minister: the DND/CF Legal Advisors, the National Security and Intelligence Review and Oversight Coordination Secretariat, and the Chief of Defence intelligence. The associate Deputy Minister has no set role description. They are to take over the files and tasks

7918-512: The department's scientific and technological advancements and provides sound technological advice on Canada's defence systems. No name is currently assigned to this position. The ADM(DRDC) reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The Assistant Deputy Minister (Information Management) recently changed their name to Chief Information Officer, referred to as CIO. The CIO group oversees the management of key information and intelligence for Canada's defence and cyber operations for DND and CAF. The position

8025-469: The different signals to different transmitters in the battlefield. The complexity of the separation process depends on the complexity of the transmission methods (e.g., hopping or time-division multiple access (TDMA)). By gathering and clustering data from each sensor, the measurements of the direction of signals can be optimized and get much more accurate than the basic measurements of a standard direction finding sensor. By calculating larger samples of

8132-682: The eastern part of Ottawa, immediately west of the headquarters building for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service . Construction began in early 2011 and was completed in 2015. In addition to those mentioned below, CSE is bound by all other Canadian laws, including the Criminal Code , the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , the Privacy Act , Security of Information Act , and

8239-589: The establishment of peacetime SIGINT operations. In September 1945, U.S. President Harry Truman declared it would be vital to carry out such operations, and Canadian authorities came to the same conclusion in December later that year. On 13 April 1946, a secret Order in Council allowed for postwar continuation of wartime cryptologic efforts and thus the Communications Branch of the National Research Council of Canada (CBNRC)

8346-720: The existing operational cyber-security units of several federal government organizations, including the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre of Public Safety Canada; the Security Operations Centre of Shared Services Canada; and the Information Technology Security branch of CSE. Prior to opening, in June 2018, Minister Ralph Goodale appointed Scott Jones the head of the new Centre. The Tutte Institute for Mathematics and Computing ( TIMC )

8453-480: The first and only Canadian cipher machine to be mass-produced; based on the British ALVIS ( BID 610 ). CBNRC and the information it gathered and shared was kept secret for 34 years until 9 January 1974, when CBC Television aired a documentary titled The Fifth Estate: The Espionage Establishment . This was the first time that the organization had ever been mentioned in public. This resulted in an outcry in

8560-512: The fronts, that we won the war!" Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower , at the end of the war, described Ultra as having been "decisive" to Allied victory. Official historian of British Intelligence in World War II Sir Harry Hinsley argued that Ultra shortened the war "by not less than two years and probably by four years"; and that, in the absence of Ultra, it is uncertain how the war would have ended. At

8667-420: The ground if it had to carry antennas and receivers for every possible frequency and signal type to deal with such countermeasures. Second, locating the transmitter's position is usually part of SIGINT. Triangulation and more sophisticated radio location techniques, such as time of arrival methods, require multiple receiving points at different locations. These receivers send location-relevant information to

8774-500: The importance of interception and decryption firmly established by the wartime experience, countries established permanent agencies dedicated to this task in the interwar period. In 1919, the British Cabinet's Secret Service Committee, chaired by Lord Curzon , recommended that a peace-time codebreaking agency should be created. The Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) was the first peace-time codebreaking agency, with

8881-448: The information being transmitted. Received energy on a particular frequency may start a recorder, and alert a human to listen to the signals if they are intelligible (i.e., COMINT). If the frequency is not known, the operators may look for power on primary or sideband frequencies using a spectrum analyzer . Information from the spectrum analyzer is then used to tune receivers to signals of interest. For example, in this simplified spectrum,

8988-541: The late 1990s, PSTS, constantly sends out information that helps the interceptors properly aim their antennas and tune their receivers. Larger intercept aircraft, such as the EP-3 or RC-135 , have the on-board capability to do some target analysis and planning, but others, such as the RC-12 GUARDRAIL , are completely under ground direction. GUARDRAIL aircraft are fairly small and usually work in units of three to cover

9095-564: The message need not be known to infer the movement. There is an art as well as science of traffic analysis. Expert analysts develop a sense for what is real and what is deceptive. Harry Kidder , for example, was one of the star cryptanalysts of World War II, a star hidden behind the secret curtain of SIGINT. Generating an electronic order of battle (EOB) requires identifying SIGINT emitters in an area of interest, determining their geographic location or range of mobility, characterizing their signals, and, where possible, determining their role in

9202-410: The message, or even MASINT techniques for "fingerprinting" transmitters or operators. Message content other than the sender and receiver is not necessary to do traffic analysis, although more information can be helpful. For example, if a certain type of radio is known to be used only by tank units, even if the position is not precisely determined by direction finding, it may be assumed that a tank unit

9309-641: The messages). Traffic analysis —the study of who is signaling to whom and in what quantity—is also used to integrate information, and it may complement cryptanalysis. Electronic interceptions appeared as early as 1900, during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The British Royal Navy had installed wireless sets produced by Marconi on board their ships in the late 1890s, and the British Army used some limited wireless signalling. The Boers captured some wireless sets and used them to make vital transmissions. Since

9416-410: The minister. The department exists to aid the minister in carrying out their responsibilities within the Defence Portfolio and provides a civilian support system for the Canadian Armed Forces . Under the National Defence Act , the Canadian Armed Forces is a completely separate and distinct organization from, and is not part of, the Department of National Defence. The Department of National Defence

9523-634: The mobilization of the fleet, for the first time in history. Over the course of the First World War , a new method of signals intelligence reached maturity. Russia’s failure to properly protect its communications fatally compromised the Russian Army ’s advance early in World War I and led to their disastrous defeat by the Germans under Ludendorff and Hindenburg at the Battle of Tannenberg . In 1918, French intercept personnel captured

9630-417: The office on 31 August 2022. In 2015, the agency built a new headquarters and campus encompassing 340,000 m (84 acres). The facility totals a little over 110,000 m (1,200,000 sq ft) and is adjacent to CSIS . CSE originates from Canada's joint military and civilian code-breaking and intelligence efforts during the Second World War . The Examination Unit ( XU ) was established during

9737-670: The organization has used its legal name (Communications Security Establishment) and initials (CSE) on its website and in public statements. In November 2011, CSE was made an independent agency, though still operating under the National Defence portfolio and constrained by the National Defence Act . In June 2019, the Communications Security Establishment Act was passed as part of an omnibus national security bill called

9844-417: The other party is outside the border and ministerial authorization is issued specifically for this case and purpose.) The Minister of National Defence guides and authorizes the activities of CSE using ministerial directives, ministerial authorizations, and ministerial orders , all of which are based on the "government’s intelligence priorities as set out by Cabinet through discussion and consultations with

9951-461: The other side will be using radios that must be portable and not have huge antennas. Even if a signal is human communications (e.g., a radio), the intelligence collection specialists have to know it exists. If the targeting function described above learns that a country has a radar that operates in a certain frequency range, the first step is to use a sensitive receiver, with one or more antennas that listen in every direction, to find an area where such

10058-405: The security and intelligence community." The Defence Minister cannot authorize any activities that are not included in the CSE mandate or grant CSE any powers that do not exist in Canadian law. Department of National Defence (Canada) The Department of National Defence ( DND ; French : Ministère de la Défense nationale ) is the department of the Government of Canada which supports

10165-417: The sensor's output data in near real-time, together with historical information of signals, better results are achieved. Data fusion correlates data samples from different frequencies from the same sensor, "same" being confirmed by direction finding or radiofrequency MASINT. If an emitter is mobile, direction finding, other than discovering a repetitive pattern of movement, is of limited value in determining if

10272-509: The signal direction, which may be too slow when the signal is of short duration. One alternative is the Wullenweber array technique. In this method, several concentric rings of antenna elements simultaneously receive the signal, so that the best bearing will ideally be clearly on a single antenna or a small set. Wullenweber arrays for high-frequency signals are enormous, referred to as "elephant cages" by their users. A more advance approach

10379-451: The stadium. If, however, an anti-terrorist organization believed that a small group would be trying to coordinate their efforts using short-range unlicensed radios at the event, SIGINT targeting of radios of that type would be reasonable. Targeting would not know where in the stadium the radios might be located or the exact frequency they are using; those are the functions of subsequent steps such as signal detection and direction finding. Once

10486-458: The story of Operation SALAM , László Almásy 's mission across the desert behind Allied lines in 1942. Prior to the Normandy landings on D-Day in June 1944, the Allies knew the locations of all but two of Germany's fifty-eight Western Front divisions. Winston Churchill was reported to have told King George VI : "It is thanks to the secret weapon of General Menzies , put into use on all

10593-806: The war . The unit was estimated to have had 50 staff members at any one time. In total 77 people worked there. By 1945, the disparate SIGINT collection units of the Canadian Navy , Army , and Air Force , were consolidated into the Joint Discrimination Unit (JDU), which was headquartered in Ottawa in the same building as the XU. By the end of the War, the military JDU and the civilian XU were able to coordinate SIGINT collection, analysis, and dissemination so efficiently that it led officials to consider

10700-590: Was chosen because they felt it would draw no suspicion to the enemies. In September, the Department of External Affairs established its Special Intelligence Section at XU with the purpose of reviewing decoded SIGINT with other collateral information to produce intelligence summaries . The original mandate of the Examination Unit was to intercept the communications of Vichy France and Germany . Its mandate later expanded to include interception and decryption of Japanese communications after Japan entered

10807-526: Was developed in response to CSE's consultations with Canadians in 2016 which identified various issues pertaining to cyber security in relation to the federal government, including accountability, departmental coordination, and leadership. In February 2018, the federal budget allocated funds for CSE, in collaboration with Public Safety Canada and Shared Services Canada , to launch the Cyber Centre. Officially created on 1 October 2018, CCCS consolidated

10914-686: Was essential to defeating the U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic , and to the British naval victories in the Battle of Cape Matapan and the Battle of North Cape . In 1941, Ultra exerted a powerful effect on the North African desert campaign against German forces under General Erwin Rommel . General Sir Claude Auchinleck wrote that were it not for Ultra, "Rommel would have certainly got through to Cairo". Ultra decrypts featured prominently in

11021-574: Was established by the National Defence Act , which merged the Department of Militia and Defence (which was created in 1906 when the British Army withdrew its forces stationed in Canada), the Department of Naval Services (the department responsible for the administration of the Royal Canadian Navy ), and the Air Board (which oversaw aviation in Canada). The National Defence Act was passed by

11128-558: Was established in 1919 and achieved some success at the Washington Naval Conference in 1921, through cryptanalysis by Herbert Yardley . Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson closed the US Cipher Bureau in 1929 with the words "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail." The use of SIGINT had even greater implications during World War II . The combined effort of intercepts and cryptanalysis for the whole of

11235-408: Was founded. This agency would be the predecessor to today's Communications Security Establishment (CSE). Beginning operations on 3 September 1946, the Communications Branch of the National Research Council (CBNRC) was the first peace-time cryptologic agency and was kept secret for much of its beginning. The CBNRC was established through a secret Order in Council signed on 13 April 1946, combining

11342-494: Was safe for ships to operate. Whenever a change to the normal pattern was seen, it immediately signalled that some operation was about to take place, and a warning could be given. Detailed information about submarine movements was also available. The use of radio-receiving equipment to pinpoint the location of any single transmitter was also developed during the war. Captain H.J. Round , working for Marconi , began carrying out experiments with direction-finding radio equipment for

11449-690: Was so successful that by the end of the war, over 80 million words, comprising the totality of German wireless transmission over the course of the war, had been intercepted by the operators of the Y-stations and decrypted. However, its most astonishing success was in decrypting the Zimmermann Telegram , a telegram from the German Foreign Office sent via Washington to its ambassador Heinrich von Eckardt in Mexico. With

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