Security breaches shut down anti-government trucker protests

Image Credit: Shutterstock (Image credit: Shutterstock)

At least one of the groups organizing anti-government trucker protests in Canada is calling the event off, citing “multiple security breaches”.

The rather confusingly-named "Canada unity Convoy for Freedom - Freedom Convoy" is the one-year reunion of a similar protest that happened in 2022 and saw truckers voice their dissatisfaction with the country's mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations.

The protests were subsequently criminalized and the organizers threatened with criminal charges.

10-7 until further notice

A year later, the second protest was planned, for February 17-20 - however this has now been called off.

"As a result of these security breaches that are beyond our control, I cannot in good conscience guarantee Public Safety as I promised, nor can I guarantee other Team Canada Unity Freedom Convoy National Partners that could be deemed as convoy organizers, protection from being charged under Ontario's Bill 100 Act," James Bauder, one of the group's organizers, wrote in a post on Facebook.

The post has since been removed from the platform.

"As a result, the Canada Unity Convoy for Freedom – Freedom Convoy will remain Officially 10-7 until further notice," he added. For those unaware, 10-7 is a radio code used by Citizen Band (CB) and the Canadian police, to describe signing off, or being out of service.

> Donation site for Ottawa "Freedom Convoy" exposed user data

> Top data breaches and cyber attacks of 2022

> Check out the best endpoint protection software

Bauder did not go into detail about the nature of these security breaches, so we don't know if any viruses or malware were involved. When reached out by The Register, Bauder was not available for further comment. The publication reminds that Bauder was arrested in February 2020 during the anti-vaccination protests that turned violent in Ottawa.

But other people don’t seem to be that eager to call it quits just yet.

"Multiple people and groups are involved. The world unity convoy 2023 is not cancelled," Freedom Convoy attendee Ron Clark told CBC via email. Tyson Billings, another attendee, confirmed it, saying "I don't know if there's something still going to Ottawa or not, but the main convoy — the World Unity Convoy — is about unity and it's about bringing the people together."

These are the best firewalls today

Via: The Register

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.