Canada Cyber Attack 'May Take One Year To Fix'

A "highly sophisticated" Chinese hacking attack on Canada's National Research Council (NRC) has caused major disruption, the Canadian government says.

The council - which carries out high-level scientific research - has been isolated from the rest of the government network as a precaution, after being compromised by a "state-sponsored actor".

The attack - which temporarily shut down the NRC's computer systems - was revealed by the country's information officer, Corinne Charette.

In a statement her office said: "The government takes this issue very seriously and we are addressing it at the highest levels in both Beijing and Ottawa."

Foreign affairs minister John Baird was in Beijing as the news became public, and said a "full and frank exchange of views" had taken place.

It is unclear what type of information may have been compromised.

The NRC says it is trying to rebuild its computer infrastructure and that the process could take up to a year.

It is known to have been working with university and private sector teams on a number of recent projects.

It is the first time the Canadian government has unequivocally blamed China for a cyber attack.

But the Chinese embassy has said it does not accept the "groundless accusation".