OTTAWA—Canada’s military says it needs to upgrade its defences against cyberattacks, documents released by the Department of National Defence read.

The documents, released by the department earlier this month, detail a significant and long-term project to give military brass better “situational awareness” of cyber space, guard against attacks, and “respond” to “advanced threats.”

The push for stronger online defences comes as Canada and NATO allies are adapting military doctrine to address the growing role of cyber operations in modern warfare.

“The . . . Canadian Armed Forces has invested heavily in technologies that have radically increased the speed and precision of modern military operations. Underpinning most of these incredible leaps in capability has been a reliance on an increasingly complex cyberspace,” the documents read.

“To deliver on its core responsibilities to defend Canada . . . (The Forces must have the) capabilities and flexibility required to successfully address both conventional and asymmetric threats, including cyberattacks.”

Cyberattacks can range from the mundane – temporarily shutting down a website or spreading false information online, for instance – to serious, sophisticated attacks against real-world targets.

There are two separate but related initiatives laid out in the documents: a Cyber Security Awareness project and an upgraded Defensive Cyber Operations unit.

The former aims to give military commanders better awareness of the Forces’ online security, while the latter would create an in-house team to monitor DND’s networks around the clock to detect and respond to cyberattacks and “maintain commanders’ freedom of manoeuvre in cyberspace.”

The cost of the new initiatives were not included in the documents, although DND estimated last year the Defensive Cyber Operations component could cost between $50 million and $99 million alone.

The projects are in their early stages — the department is looking for feedback from private suppliers, with an eye to awarding a contract in 2021.

According to DND spokesperson Jessica Lamirande, the upgrades are expected to provide more information about cyberattacks against the department faster.

“(The projects) will move the organization from its current manual response posture, to a proactive posture in which the commander of the cyber defensive mission can anticipate and make rapid decisions, informed by intelligence and the near real time analysis of network activity,” the statement said.

At the Halifax International Security Forum in November, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said cyber warfare is a constant consideration for the alliance.

“There is no military operation today without a cyber element,” he said. “We see that cyber is an area where there are constant attacks from states but also non-state actors.”

A report that same month from Reuters indicated that some NATO countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are “drawing up principles” to guide their militaries in launching cyberattacks.

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Typically, the Canadian government prefers to talk about cyber defence. But while the DND projects detailed in the documents refer only to defensive operations, the department admitted in March they’re studying cyber weapons.

And legislation currently before parliament would authorize the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s electronic spy agency, to launch cyberattacks.