The Challenges of Attributing Information Operation Attacks: The RRM Experience

In October 2023, the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), a unit of Global Affairs Canada, issued a rare public announcement, stating that dozens of Canadian members of Parliament (MPs), from an array of political parties, were targets of a disinformation campaign known as “Spamouflage,” carried out by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) between August and September 2023.

The RRM is a Canadian innovation, advanced initially at the G7 meeting in 2018. Disinformation was a focus of G7 leaders’ interest at the summit, especially after evidence had emerged of Russian efforts to interfere with US and European elections.

The RRM, from the outset, became involved in monitoring disinformation operations targeting Canadian elections and political actors. But this role proved challenging, for technical, security and political reasons, and provides the substance of this case study.