The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has warned that Russian and Chinee hackers are working hard trying to steal state secrets.

The report prepared for the service director Michael Coulombe said that in addition to the country grappling with the threat of radical Jihadi-extremists, espionage from foreign countries is also a worrying issue.

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"Russia and China in particular, continue to target Canada's classified information and advanced technology, as well as government officials and agencies," the report said.

The report was obtained by the Canadian press through the Access to Information Law.

When quizzed by the media, CSIS spokeswoman Tahera Mufti declined to reveal specific aspects of the investigation. She, however, emphasized the spy service's growing concerns.

"Canada remains a target for the traditional espionage activities of a number of foreign of states," she said, adding that the said foreign hackers continue to gather political, economic, and military information in Canada through crooked means.

According to Mufti, state-backed hackers and other entities will try to pursue their political, economic, and territorial interests by using a wide range of means.

"Some will do so through espionage and interference, targeting the Canadian economy, strategic interests and assets, societal institutions and members of the Diaspora," she noted.

Three years ago, Julian Delisle, a junior Canadian naval officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to passing classified intelligence to Russia in exchange for money.

The United States has also accused Russia of hacking and releasing Democratic Party emails which proved damaging to the party's presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

However, Russia has denied the accusations.

Two years ago, Canada accused a Chinese state-sponsored actor of intruding into its National Research Council's networks, resulting in a shut-down of the agency's IT section.

Beijing denied responsibility for the attack, accusing Canada of making unfounded allegations.

Tagseconomic espionage, china, Russia