CTS panelists hope privacy bill, C-11, ‘dies quickly,’ say Canada is losing ‘military edge’ in digital age

MISSISSAUGA -- Ontario’s former privacy commissioner hopes the government's proposed privacy bill -- likely to be reintroduced by the Liberal government after Bill C-11 died on the floor when the 2021 election was called -- “dies a fast death” and that telecom companies need to invoke measures on their own if they want to protect individual freedoms and prevent other countries from having a “military edge” over Canada. Ann Cavoukian, currently executive director of Global Privacy and Security by Design Centre, made the comments about the “government dragging its feet” on adequate privacy laws at a Monday afternoon privacy and cybersecurity panel at the 2021 edition of the Canadian Telecom Summit during. “It’s appalling and we need a new bill introduced,” she said. “Is there any reference to privacy by design? No. Is there any reference addressing the concerns and comments made over the past few years? No. And that’s crazy. Canada’s legislation regarding privacy and cybersecurity is virtually non-existent, the panelists said. Specifically, Cavoukian noted that when the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018, Canada’s own privacy commissioner recognized it is legislation needed an update to deal with privacy in the digital age, however, its proposed Bill C-11 is less than equivalent to the GDPR. “They introduced a stupid, terrible which will hopefully disappear. They’re not putting in the thought and time required to strengthen our laws and that’s why so many companies are going by privacy by design,” she said. “It’s completely unacceptable.” The panelists all agreed that Canada’s approximately 20-year-old privacy laws are insufficient and unsustainable to deal with privacy -- as 5G technologies are beginning to roll out resulting in more integration points -- and what several called a “deficiency of trust.” Global chief of technology at Interdynamix Vanessa Little -- who spoke at a morning panel on cloud, edge and 5G innovation in the digital economy -- added to Cavoukian’s argument, stating that Canada has no laws in place for monetary punitive action if an individual is hit with a data breach. She added that companies are currently paying the ransom for breaches and sweeping the incidents under the rug. “Why would someone spend hundreds of millions of dollars securing a complicated network if there’s no risk at all if you’re hacked,” she said. Director of security for Ericsson AB’s Network Product Solutions Scott Poretsky said that the FBI in the United Stated recommends companies do not pay the ransom to discourage “bad actors” from attacking individuals privacy -- an idea which the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) also recently said might work to curb attacks. Panelists said that it would be a good idea to make companies disclose ransomware payouts -- which the Federal Communications Commission in the United States is trying to require companies to do -- are a good idea. “I think it’s awesome because it holds companies more accountable for their own security,” cybersecurity strategist Karen Worstell said. “If you don’t hold them accountable they have no impetus to actually be secure, spend them money, and take it seriously. It has to be baked into their financial model and force them to do privacy by design.” Poretsky said even though he thought organizations should be held responsible for their customers' data and cybersecurity, mandatory reporting is not the best idea because other attackers might be encouraged by how much companies are willing to pay. Poretsky and several other panelists also noted that information for profit is just one motive for cyberattacks, and Canada needs to protect itself from nation states in what they dubbed the “new arms race” -- a race which they said the country is losing. “These attackers are actually looking to establish this persistence within our critical infrastructure to activate it at a future time at their convenience and we don’t seem to be necessarily willing to take the cost of the time to address that,” Worstell said. Little said agriculture is an example of an industry adopting more edge and IoT technology which runs the risk of attackers manipulating devices (electrical grids) to wipe out crops overnight and driving up prices and causing widespread panic as a result. -- Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca.

CTS panelists hope privacy bill, C-11, ‘dies quickly,’ say Canada is losing ‘military edge’ in digital age

News | November 15, 2021

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CTS panelists hope privacy bill, C-11, ‘dies quickly,’ say Canada is losing ‘military edge’ in digital age

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