Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email

A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.

A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.

Garnett Genuis rose in the House Wednesday saying the cyberattack by the group known as APT31 targeted this personal email account, not his parliamentary account, meaning he wasn’t sure if the attack was successful or not.

"I have no idea how APT31 came to access my personal non-parliamentary account, because it is not publicly available," said Genius while rising on a point of privilege in Parliament.

"I was attacked at my personal account because of my parliamentary activities in order to access information about and disrupt my parliamentary activities," said Genius who is the co-chair of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). The alliance is an international cross-party group of legislators who look at reforming how democratic countries deal with China.

The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) determined that there were no cybersecurity impacts to any members or their communications, Mathieu Gravel, a spokesperson for the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons, told CTV News on Tuesday.

"The House employs layers of robust cybersecurity protections and monitoring programs to ensure the integrity of the parliamentary environment and works closely with national security partners to detect and mitigate threats," said Mathieu Gravel from the office of the Speaker.

The CSE and its Canadian Centre for Cyber Security share information on potential and emerging cybersecurity threats with Parliament on an ongoing basis, added Gravel.