By: Kristel Lee-Hon-Siong
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Collaborating for Success
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is an organization that is achieving successful cyber risk mitigation through collaboration and partnerships. Francis Catonguay, Director General of Partnerships and Risk Mitigation at the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, debunked some myths about this organization at the CIO Conference. that was recently established in October 2018. No, it is not an electronic spy agency. It’s a program that offers a unified approach to cyber security to improve online resilience across Canada.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is providing a single unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support on cyber security for government, critical infrastructure owners and operations for the private sector and the Canadian public. It strives to protect valuable information that is critical to our health, our economy, and our security — information that is continuously threatened. The centre brings all the organizations together by fostering collaboration through the core mandate to do good things.
Private companies such as Google, Twitter and Facebook are being called to action to protect the multitudes of information they collect on Canadians. The Canadian public has been pressuring the private sector to improve transparency regarding collection of personal data and increase security when it comes to storing that data.
The public sector also faces unique challenges with cyber security. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security example works with political parties to ensure personal data like voter information is kept secure. Collaborating with the Canadian public sector is a good business opportunity too, as high-profile clients attract more partnership opportunities from all industries.
From educating and training Canadians through their GetCyberSafe (https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca) public awareness campaign to providing technical advice and guidance, national cyber threat assessment, and cyber event notifications and reports, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is on the frontlines of our national cyber defense team. Let’s partner with them and take a proactive approach by implementing security features that keep our data safe.
About the writer:
Kristel Lee-Hon-Siong is a certified associate in project management (CAPM®) and a scrum master (CSM®) with experience in the agile environment and lean six sigma improvement processes. She has worked in diverse industries, such as information technology, manufacturing, event management, and the educational sector. She is a graduate of University of Waterloo with a Bachelor’s of Art in Psychology and Human Resources Management, and will soon be graduating from York University with a Bachelor’s of Commerce.