In July 2014, China’s state-sponsored hackers attacked the Canadian National Research Council’s computer systems through phishing messages containing malicious links. The Council works with private businesses to fund and develop technological innovation. The Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre reported that the hackers were after intellectual property, trade secrets, and other sensitive information. Canadian federal documents revealed that the cyber intrusion involving multiple departments cost Canada hundreds of millions of dollars. While the Canadian government had previously been targeted by actors seemingly based in China, this was the first time that they publicly blamed the Chinese state for a cyber-attack.