Snowden documents show depth of Canadian spy agency amid ‘misinformation’ fears

In the game of international espionage, sometimes a kernel of truth is worth as much as the whole story. Disguise, deception and misdirection are par for the course, all part of the war that pits spy against spy. Even Canadian spies, who it appears play a larger role than we have previously known.

As classified documents obtained and leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden continue to make headlines, Canada's eavesdropping agency continues to make headlines.

Jean-Pierre Plouffe, a watchdog for Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) said on Tuesday that he fears the headlines will be taken out of context and lead to misinformation in the public sphere.

"The information provided by Mr. Snowden made the news, often very sensational in the media," Plouffe said, according to the Canadian Press.

"Unfortunately, this information is often taken out of context, which as a result becomes misinformation. So one of the key objectives of my office is to help to clarify this information and to correct it if necessary so that it is no longer propagated as a myth."

[ Related: Spy watchdog decries 'misinformation' flowing from leaks ]

The SCEC is a key part of a surveillance network known as the Five Eyes – which also includes the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand – an exclusive surveillance program established following the Second World War.

Postmedia News recently reported that Five Eyes have a standing rule not to spy on one another, or various second-party partners. So there is little surprise that Canadian spies exist, or that they are working in tandem with allied nations. But the Snowden documents have pulled back the curtain about how it all actually works.

CBC News reported on Monday that top secret documents retrieved Snowden confirmed that the CSEC carries out clandestine surveillance activities at the request of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

The report suggests Canada's benign international reputation made it an ideal partner for the NSA, and allowed it to conduct espionage on behalf of the high-profile American spy agency.

The report suggests Canada spies were active in "approximately 20 high-priority countries," although CBC says it has refused to make public much of the hyper-sensitive information contained in the document.

Intelligence researcher Bill Robinson wrote on his security blog Lux Ex Umbra that most of the information contained within the CBC report was previously known, adding that he found it disturbing that the network would celebrate having a top secret document without reporting on its contents.

He wrote:

[ More Brew: Neil Young staging concerts to fight against Alberta oil sands ]

That could shed some light on Plouffe's concerns about the spread of misinformation. When we are parsing through high-stakes secrets which are only partially exposed, there is room for confusion and uncertainty.

Still, the SCEC has certainly attained a higher level of notoriety ever since Snowden documents were first leaked. Documents released earlier this year revealed that CSEC used a sophisticated computer program to track phone and email data.

The software was reportedly used to spy on Canadians with suspected terror links and, in a separate high-profile revelation, Brazil's mining and energy industry.

SCEC also reportedly helped the U.S. spy on Canadian soil during the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto. It was also implicated in the hacking of phone calls and emails of politicians at the G20 summit in London the previous year.

It was reported earlier this year that CSEC's budget had reached $460 million annually, up from $97 million in 2000. The agency is set to move into a new, state of the art headquarters in suburban Ottawa, worth about $1 billion.

So while misinformation is a concern for the SCEC, dealing in the collection of clandestine information appears to be big business here in Canada.