Vanguard Magazine

CYBERSECURITY A group of five Canadian uni- versities will be heading up the government of Canada's new online security net- work. The National Cybersecurity Consor- tium (NCC) recently announced that they have been appointed by the government of Canada to lead the Canadian govern- ment's Cybersecurity Innovation Network (CSIN). The consortium will receive up to $80 million in matching funds over a four- year period to strengthen Canada's cyber security workforce and infrastructure. The NCC Vision: Strengthening Canada's Cybersecurity Echo System The NCC is envisioned as an industry-aca- demia collaboration to strengthen Canada's cybersecurity echo system. It was founded in 2020 by 5 Canadian universities. Those include the University of Waterloo, the Uni- versity of New Brunswick, the University of Calgary, Ryerson University, and Concordia University. It is a not-for-profit organization. NCC focuses on five areas that include software and network security as well as privacy for individuals and critical infra- structure. The announcement of the collaboration with the federal government was made on February 17. During the application process, the NCC worked with over 100 researchers representing a variety of post- secondary institutions across the country. They also collaborated with 34 not-for- profit organizations and 46 companies of different sizes. A Major Force in Canadian Cybersecurity Dr. Ken Barker Director, Institute for Se- curity, Privacy and Information Assurance, University of Calgary, spoke about the po- tential the announcement provides. "We are thrilled that the Government of Canada has appointed the NCC to lead the CSIN program," he said recently. BY VANGUARD STAFF APPOINTED TO LEAD FEDERAL INITIATIVE CANADIAN UNIVERSITY CYBERSECURITY GROUP www.vanguardcanada.com DECEMBER 2022/JANUARY 2023 13 Barker added that he expected the CSIN to become an influential driver in Cana- dian cybersecurity. "We believe that under the NCC's lead- ership, CSIN will become a major force for the advancement of cybersecurity in- novation in Canada. As a nationwide net- work, CSIN is poised to meaningfully ad- vance cybersecurity across all sectors and in all regions of Canada." A Shared Optimism That optimism was shared by his federal counterpart. "Demands on the digital economy con- tinue to rapidly grow, and cyber security is an ever-increasing concern for Canadians and Canadian businesses," The Honour- able François-Philippe Champagne, Min- ister of Innovation, Science and Industry said recently. "That's why it is vital to support and invest in a strong, secure, and resilient Canadian cyber ecosystem. Through this investment, the Cyber Secu- rity Innovation Network will not only help drive Canada's prosperity, security and in- novation but also help build a nation of cybersecurity trailblazers." The new announcement folds in un- der the umbrella of the National Cyber Security Strategy. It has a multipronged approach that includes protecting Canadi- ans' rights and freedoms online and their critical infrastructure. Business Economic Growth and Prosperity The tactic is also focused on creating cy- bersecurity for businesses' prosperity and economic growth. The recent announce- ment is part of this push. The government of Canada's first cybersecurity strategy al- located $431.5 million over a decade. It partnered with cybersecurity systems outside the federal government to accom- plish several goals. Those included: • Securing government systems and help- ing them respond to detect and prevent cyber-attacks. • Helping Canadians to be secure in the online world. This recent announcement furthers the ef- forts that began under this 2010 strategy. The federal notice was also met with opti- mism from other NCC members. "As a founding partner of the NCC, we are thrilled to hear today's announce- ment," said Dr. David MaGee, UNB vice- president (research). "UNB's extensive cybersecurity expertise, including the first- of-its-kind Canadian Institute for Cyber- security (CIC), a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, multiple industry research chairs,

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