CBC
Loss of secret data puts navy's handling of storage devices under investigation � again
Security assessment said 'uncontrolled disclosure cannot be ruled out'
Murray Brewster � CBC News � Posted: Dec 09, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: December 9
Two of Canada's frontline frigates lost electronic storage devices containing classified and top secret data � including electronic warfare material � according to security inventories conducted over the last two years, CBC News has learned.
The devices � USBs, DVDs and a backup hard drive � went missing despite an apparent tightening of security in the wake of a spy scandal almost a decade ago, and a separate internal 2013 board of inquiry which recommended measures to clean up the navy's handling of classified data.
In August 2020, according to documents obtained by CBC News, an inventory of the secure data account aboard HMCS Fredericton "discovered numerous classified and unclassified [electronic warfare] items" were missing.
A subsequent search focused on two missing DVDs containing highly "sensitive" information, including information about threat emitters � electronic devices to identify and help counter incoming missiles � used by the ship's various systems.
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