Speakers:
- Barb Carra, Cybera
- Richard Lacombe, RISQ
- Mark Wolff, CANARIE
Abstract:
National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) around the globe are increasingly being asked by the communities they serve to help secure the research and Education (R&E) sector. In Canada, this means engaging with 200+ organizations across the country, from a small rural college in Québec with just over 700 students, to Canada’s largest university with almost 100,000 students.
Canada’s federated NREN offers a unique approach to securing the sector, based on three key foundational principles:
• We are always stronger together, but this collective strength is especially important when dealing with sophisticated bad actors who are increasingly supported by nation states;
• Regional NREN partners in the provinces and territories know their connected organizations best and, thus, are in the best position to engage with teams at organizations; and,
• There are unique strengths and capabilities at all levels of the ecosystem: at organizations, in the regions, and at the national level. By combining these capabilities, the entire sector can be protected in a cost-effective and process-efficient manner.
This presentation will focus on three key areas where CANARIE and Canada’s regional NREN partners are collaborating to build a cybersecurity system structure that can evolve to meet organizational needs based on the ever-changing threat landscape:
1. CANARIE’s Cybersecurity Initiatives Program, which provides eligible organizations with a range of funded cybersecurity services, and is supported by local adoption activities carried out by the regional NREN partners;
2. The National Cybersecurity Assessment, developed jointly with the Canadian NREN, which provides quantitative assessments of NREN-connected organizations to identify priority areas for action at the regional and national levels; and,
3. Steps towards the development of a federated Security Operations Centre (SOC), which combines existing and evolving SOCs in a federated model to leverage existing talent, infrastructures, and processes while delivering critical detection and response capabilities that organizations can’t offer on their own.
It’s a bold vision to secure Canada’s research and education sector, but the collaborative ethos of this community is strong, the track record is compelling, and our joint steps towards developing a federated SOC have been welcomed.
Join colleagues from Canada to learn about how the federal, provincial, and territorial NREN partners and experts across the research and education ecosystem are working together to create a united and formidable defense against the threats targeting Canada’s research and education sector.