The origin of the Hydra name actually comes from a highly sophisticated telecommunications relay station that was located in our hometown of Whitby, Ontario at Camp X during WWII. Hydra sent and received Allied radio (including telegraph) signals from around the world.
The Hydra station was valuable for both coding and decoding information in relative safety from prying ears. Hydra also had direct access via landlines to Ottawa, New York City, Washington, D.C. and London for telegraph and telephone communications.
The Government of Canada later stated that Hydra provided “an essential tactical and strategic component of the larger Allied radio network, secret information was transmitted securely to and from Canada, Great Britain, other Commonwealth countries and the United States”.