The government department responsible for granting secret clearance to the NATO intern arrested in July by Belgian police on suspicion of espionage was not required to look at her social media accounts or presence online before issuing her security clearance, a committee of MPs was told on Wednesday.
Global Affairs Canada granted former federal public servant Biwei Zhang security clearance before she took up her role at NATO last year, following vetting by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and criminal record checks by the RCMP.
A senior official at the foreign affairs department told MPs on the House of Commons public safety committee Wednesday that searches of internet profiles were not required for security checks at Ms. Zhang’s level, unlike “top secret” clearance.
NATO relies on member states to screen applicants for jobs with the military alliance. For NATO interns, the level of clearance required is “secret,” the committee was told by federal officials.
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Ms. Zhang, 33, identified by Belgian authorities as a Canadian national of Chinese origin, was working at the military alliance’s command centre in the southern Belgian city of Mons when she was arrested and detained in July.
Tara Denham, assistant deputy minister at Global Affairs, told MPs that since Ms. Zhang’s arrest the department has proactively initiated internet searches for its “secret” clearance checks.
She said introducing internet searches as part of the process was one of the recommendations her department had made to Gary Anandasangaree, the Public Safety Minister, who asked departments involved in Ms. Zhang’s vetting to review their procedures after her arrest.
Ms. Zhang, who also uses her English name, Claire, had profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Threads. On her LinkedIn profile, Ms. Zhang is reported to have described herself as “aggressively Asian” with flag icons of China and Canada beside the caption.
An internet search carried out by JOBFlocks found that she had unsuccessfully challenged a finding of fraud by the public service watchdog in a federal court. She had applied twice under two different names and e-mail addresses for a role at the Canada Border Services Agency, and had taken a test required for the role twice under different identities.
But MPs heard that the finding of fraud within the public service would not necessarily have been shared with Global Affairs as part of the vetting process. There is no central government database that stores federal employee files with “red flags,” as one MP referred to them.
Giving evidence before the committee, Brigadier-General Liam Cox, director general defence security and chief security officer at the Department of National Defence, said trained spies would be unlikely to place compromising material online.
“If somebody has any statecraft, they can obfuscate their behaviour, and we wouldn’t find it with a surface-level internet check,” he told the committee of MPs. “And that’s why that isn’t the only thing, and can’t be the only thing that we use try to get an understanding of what that person is who presents themselves.”
He said the arrest of Ms. Zhang has not harmed relations with NATO allies and there is no loss of confidence in Canada.
He said he could not comment on her case, but said the way to build trust with allies is by collaborating and sharing information, including “lessons observed and working together on insider risk.”
He said insider risk is not a new threat “and all our allies are struggling with the same thing.“
“It’s a pervasive problem we’re all dealing with as allies. A dedicated actor who wants to infiltrate unfortunately, probably can, especially at certain levels,” he told MPs. “But it’s the collaborative approach to make sure that we can catch, if you will, any breaches by the layered security defence, ensuring that we only grant access to certain areas, so that when something unusual occurs, it’s noticed.”
Asked about current security concerns, Ms. Denham mentioned “espionage and targeting of individuals” working in government.
“Insider threats has been mentioned. I mean, these are approaches that many countries try. They try and penetrate all of our organizations, all of our governments, and you all have to be continually aware,” she told the committee. “Other threats include, of course, cyber and security threats, impersonation of our individuals overseas, attacking online of our individuals.”
Mr. Anandasangaree told reporters on Monday that Ms. Zhang’s previous employment with the federal government – which included stints at the Canadian Space Agency, Statistics Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada – will be looked into.
He said once Belgium concludes its investigation, “there’s probably more for law enforcement in Canada to undertake.”