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OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s ill-defined plan to give Canada’s cyberspy agency wide-ranging powers to go on the attack against threats could trample civil liberties, warns a newly released analysis.

The report by leading Canadian cybersecurity researchers says there is no clear rationale for expanding the Communications Security Establishment’s mandate to conduct offensive operations.

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“The case has not been made that such powers are necessary, nor that they will result in a net benefit to the security of Canadians.”

The 71-page report, made public Monday, was prepared by a team of five researchers from the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa.

It delves into intricacies of the sweeping Liberal security bill, tabled in June, that would give the CSE new authority to conduct both defensive and offensive cyberoperations. The report makes 45 recommendations to safeguard privacy and human rights.