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In a twist that proves cyber security is important to people and organisations from all walks of life, a recently planned anti-vaccination protest to be held by Canadian truck drivers has been cancelled due to an apparent data breach.
The rally was scheduled to begin on 17 February and to last for four days, but on the last day of 2022, one of the organisers called it off. In a statement on Facebook that has since been deleted — but which multiple journalists have seen and reported on — James Bauder of anti-government group Canada Unity delivered the bad news to his fellow truckers for freedom.
“The main reason for cancelling the Freedom Convoy 2.0 is, since I made the official announcing plans to bring the Official Freedom Convoy 2.0 back to Ottawa Area for a four-day reunion, I have had several security breaches, and personal character attacks made against me and others on Team Canada Unity,” Bauder’s statement read.
“As a result of these security breaches that are beyond our control, I cannot in good conscience guarantee public safety as I promised, nor can I guarantee other Team Canada Unity Freedom Convoy national partners that could be deemed as convoy organisers, protection from being charged under Ontario’s Bill 100 Act.”
It is worth noting that Bauder’s bail conditions following his arrest at the original rally restrict his entry into Ottawa.
In the past, Bauder has shared QAnon conspiracy theories, and also believes the official accounts of the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 aren’t what really happened. He started the Freedom Convoy because God told him too and believes that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is guilty of treason.
Despite the cancellation, many other groups involved with the Freedom Convoy 2.0 are still planning to make the event. So there is some possible light at the end of their dim highway tunnel.
While Bauder did not provide any detail about the security breaches that have him so worried, this isn’t the first time the Freedom Convoy organisers have fallen afoul of security breaches.
Early last year, leak site Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS) revealed the details of a number of donors to the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign. The data was from the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo, and included names, emails, and IP addresses.
At the time, DDoS stated that while it was not releasing the data publicly — which it claims came from a hack but offered no other details — it was being shared with journalists and researchers.
Reuters, which DDoS shared the leaked data with, confirmed that a number of successful Canadian business owners were supporters of the convoy — and very generous donors.
While the recent leak may involve a similarly altruistic hack, so far DDoS has remained quiet on the matter.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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