A senior Canadian intelligence official has been found guilty of breaching the country’s secrets law.
Jurors found Cameron Jay Ortis – a former director general with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) – guilty of three counts of violating the Security of Information Act and one count of attempting to do so.
Security experts have said the case risked Canada’s standing in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which includes the UK, along with the US, New Zealand and Australia.
The 51-year-old was also found guilty of breach of trust and fraudulent use of a computer.
Ortis led the RCMP’s Operations Research group, which gathered classified information on cybercriminals, terror cells and international criminal networks.
As a result of his work, he had access to highly sensitive domestic and foreign intelligence.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming he offered secret material to targets to try to get them to use an online encryption service set up by an allied intelligence agency to spy on adversaries.
But the prosecution argued Ortis lacked the authority to disclose classified material.
It also said he failed to act within a sanctioned undercover operation.
The defence, however, said he was looking into a “clear and grave threat” and did not betray Canada.
Ortis told the jury that in September 2014, he was contacted by a counterpart at a foreign agency who advised him of a particularly serious threat.
He was told in strict confidence about an online encryption service called Tutanota, he said, that was secretly set up to monitor potentially important communications.
He devised a plan called Nudge to entice investigative targets to sign on to the encryption service, he added, with promises of secret material used as bait.
The company, now known as Tuta, denies having ties to intelligence agencies.
The prosecution claimed Ortis was self-serving and reckless, flouting rules and protocols on a solo mission that sabotaged national security.
It also claimed he endangered the life of a genuine undercover officer.
In addition, no one other than Ortis had heard of Operation Nudge, the prosecution argued, and no records of the project could be found.
Following the verdict, Justice Robert Maranger told the court in Ottawa that Ortis’s bail would be revoked prior to sentencing.
He could be facing a severe prison sentence, with the CBC reporting that prosecutors are expected to seek a sentence in the range of 20 years.
