Canada’s Bill C-22 Forces New Metadata Harvesting by ISPs

Bill C-22, recently tabled in the Canadian Parliament, mandates that telecoms and internet service providers collect and retain detailed metadata on all domestic electronic communications. The law broadens the definition of “vulnerable” data to include routine service logs—such as connection timestamps, IP addresses, and device identifiers—requiring providers to build new storage and reporting pipelines to satisfy the legislation.

For defenders, the expanded data pool creates both a compliance burden and a larger attack surface. Retained logs become high‑value assets for threat actors seeking to map networks, profile users, or exfiltrate historical traffic patterns. Security teams must audit existing log‑management practices, enforce strict access controls, and incorporate the new data streams into detection and response workflows to mitigate the heightened risk of insider abuse and external compromise.

Categories: Compliance & Regulation, Data Protection & Privacy

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