CSE watchdog oversight, fall launch for cybersecurity centre

OTTAWA — The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) now has a leader in current Communication Security Establishment (CSE) deputy assistant minister of IT security Scott Jones, the government said Tuesday as officials revealed further details about its $507.7 million cybersecurity strategy. That strategy was first announced in the 2018 budget, and in addition to the creation of the CCCS, it includes funding to the RCMP to build a National Cybercrime Coordination Unit (NCCU). “We must substantially strengthen Canada’s cybersecurity capabilities to better protect ourselves and our systems against evolving cyber threats,” said Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale during the afternoon press conference. During a morning briefing call, a senior CSE official said that the security agency hopes the CCCS will be online by the fall. Goodale told reporters that the government want to get the strategy in place soon. “All of the players that have worked on this policy are very anxious to get the elements up and running quickly because technology moves very fast,” he said. According to Goodale, the CCCS’ goal is to consolidate the response to cybersecurity events in one place, so that there’s a central resource for Canadians to rely on and that the government will be able to turn to in the event of a cybersecurity breach or attack. Because the organization hopes to conduct business with the public and interact with industry, the CCCS will get an office location in Ottawa. The centre will bring together 750 employees from the departments of Public Safety, Shared Services Canada and the CSE to coordinate incident management, situational awareness and technical advice and guidance, a government document said. It also unveiled a voluntary cybersecurity certification for small and medium-sized businesses, to be helmed by Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada. A senior ISED official explained that the goal was to create an easy and understandable way for businesses to improve their resilience against attacks in the future. A government document explained that the CSE is tasked with developing the technical requirements of the certification and the Standards Council of Canada will be in charge of accreditation certification bodies. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the .ca domain provider and internet advocacy group, responded positively to the news of more support offered to small businesses. “We are pleased to see that the National Cyber Security Strategy focuses not just on institutions but on businesses as well,” Byron Holland, president and CEO of CIRA said in an emailed statement. “Small and medium sized Canadian businesses are the backbone of our economy but are also the most vulnerable. Providing these businesses with cybersecurity strategies and resources is essential to holding back the tide of cyber threats." The strategy also expanded on the new cybercrime-fighting tools given to the RCMP in the budget. The NCCU will serve as the sole point of contact for international partners, government officials said. Additionally, it will provide new support to criminal investigations of illicit online activity through a team of cybercrime specialists — who can also be deployed to collaborating groups, domestic and abroad, when needed. The government also said part of the strategy would include working on developing Canadian cybersecurity talent and leadership. A “huge challenge and huge opportunity” in Canada’s preparedness against cyber attacks, according to Goodale, is the lack of available cybersecurity talent. “There are there are jobs vacant right now in cybersecurity units within the private sector and within government that we want to fill as rapidly as possible,” he said. The new centre came under some criticism from experts concerned about openness and transparency, given that it is being led by the CSE. Goodale explained that the oversight of the centre would be under the new watchdog bodies in the proposed Bill C-59. “We're creating for the first time ever an element of real time oversight by the creation of the new Office of the Intelligence Commissioner,” said Goodale. “ will actually have a role before the fact to examine proposed activities that would be undertaken by these agencies and make a ruling in advance as to whether they are appropriate and reasonable.” Another element of oversight introduced in the new framework are cyber security action plans. These will be created by various government departments and will include “clear performance metrics and a commitment to report on results achieved,” according to a document outlining the cybersecurity strategy. — With reporting by Bryson Masse at bmasse@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

CSE watchdog oversight, fall launch for cybersecurity centre

News | June 12, 2018

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CSE watchdog oversight, fall launch for cybersecurity centre

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