Canadian election databases use "canary traps"—and they work
In a world awash in high-tech security tools like passkeys, quantum-safe algorithms, and public-key cryptography, it can be refreshing to get back to the simple things… like a good old-fashioned canary trap.
TL;DR
- A canary trap is a security tool used to identify leakers by making unique, minor changes to information shared with each recipient.
- If leaked, these unique changes reveal the source of the leak.
- Alberta, Canada, used a canary trap on its electoral list, which was legally provided to the Republican Party of Alberta.
- The Centurion Project, a separatist group, used a leaked version of the list to create an online voter database.
- Elections Alberta identified the leak by finding fake entries, unique to the Republican Party's copy, in the Centurion Project's database.
- The exact path of the data from the Republican Party to Centurion remains unclear, but the canary trap allowed for swift action.
- The concept of the canary trap has been used by companies like Tesla and Apple and is featured in spy fiction, notably in Tom Clancy's 'Patriot Games'.