Jamie Rees

As we head into 2025, this will likely be an even busier year for me and Canadian Cyber in Context. There is a lot on the horizon regarding projects and events in Canada, and so with it, will changes be coming to Canadian Cyber in Context to enable me to provide the best research and coverage of Canadian cyber defence public policy. In 2025, you can expect to see me cover CAFCYBERCOM, CPCSC, and other important policy topics affecting Canadian cyber defence. To help, I am accepting paid subscribers who will receive additional access and supplemental content and will be accepting sponsors. None of this will have any impact on the content other than providing the space and support to dedicate more time to providing you with the best information possible about what the Government of Canada is doing with cyber defence. https://lnkd.in/gX-79w6v #Canada #CAFCYBERCOM #research #innovation #defenceindustry #cyber #canadianarmedforces

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As a proud member of the Operation: Defend the North (ODTN) 2025 Advisory Board, I’m excited to share why this event is a must-attend for Canada’s cybersecurity leaders and professionals. Imagine this: a major telecom blackout strikes the West Coast. Communications fail. Industries are paralyzed. How do we as cyber security professionals respond? On April 3rd, in Vancouver, we’re bringing together public and private sector leaders for a high-stakes cyber breach simulation that tests our ability to defend against and recover from this critical scenario. Cybersecurity isn’t just a job—it’s a responsibility that we all share. This isn’t just an event; it’s where strategy meets action. Join us for an unforgettable day of insights, innovation, and impact. 👉 Secure your spot now: siberx.org/defendthenorth  #wearecyber #defendthenorth #cybersecurity #westcoastdeadzone #cyberresilience

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This should not be happening! We need to create some national and provincial standards that everyone is required to follow especially governments and crown corporations. We have to take our heads out of the sand and address cybersecurity threats in a more proactive and modern approach. #cybersecurity #stratejm

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New voluntary guidelines for Critical Infrastructure (CI) by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CSE) are out. After having a quick look, I like how they structured them based the NIST CSF 2.0. I definitely plan to have a more detailed look soon...

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The Government of Canada released an Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy last month. Unfortunately, most media outlets overlooked or did not understand what enterprise cyber security means or is about. So, I decided to write an introduction to the first Canadian Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy. https://lnkd.in/gQ4nP7dc #Canada #defence #defenceindustrialbase #enterprise #cybersecurity #cyberdefence Canadian Cyber in Context #innovation #cyber #treasuryboard

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🇨🇦 If you're among the Canadian business leaders concerned about #cybersecurity as reported in a recent survey, cyber insurance is not a magic bullet, but only one part of a more comprehensive strategy. Engaging in OpenSSF, and implementing security best practices, is a proactive approach.

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🌐 Protecting Canada's Critical Infrastructure: New Cybersecurity Guidance from the CSE 🌐 Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) just released vital cybersecurity guidance to help critical infrastructure (CI) providers strengthen their defenses against evolving cyber threats. This new guidance offers an essential roadmap for CI organizations to navigate risks with greater resilience, offering frameworks and recommendations that address challenges specific to sectors like energy, finance, healthcare, and more. At Stratejm a Bell Canada company, safeguarding CI is a priority, and this guidance from CSE reinforces best practices we advocate in every cybersecurity engagement. With comprehensive recommendations on access management, network security, incident response, and system resilience, these insights are a crucial resource for any organization committed to protecting Canada’s infrastructure. 📌 Let's continue to fortify our security measures, foster cross-sector collaboration, and implement strong cyber defense frameworks. Together, we can build a more resilient digital Canada. #Cybersecurity #CriticalInfrastructure #Stratejm #CSE #Canada #teambell #bell https://lnkd.in/gufSNKqy

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New legislation proposed for public sector AI in Ontario: "The proposed legislation includes introducing a definition of an “artificial intelligence system” that is in alignment with leading jurisdictions to create consistency in how AI is defined across the public sector and to support AI-related initiatives across the government. Ontario is proposing to establish accountability and transparency requirements for the Ontario government and public sector when using AI. For example, requiring these organizations to inform the public of when they are interacting with AI, or mandating that decisions made by AI always have a channel for human review — recognizing AI’s capacity for bias. The proposed legislation includes creating regulation-making authority to ensure responsible, risk-based AI use by select public sector organizations. This includes ensuring they are following Ontario’s Trustworthy AI Framework to protect people from unintentional harms and reduce liability and reputational risks that can arise from using AI technologies. These regulations would be developed through consultations with government and public sector stakeholders, Indigenous partners, and AI experts."

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Today, Michael F., Juan Carlos B. and I are presenting at Operation Defend the North, a groundbreaking Canadian Cybersecurity Readiness Exercise hosted by siberX.  We’ll discuss: •⁠ ⁠Detection of anomalies in the power grid monitoring system, leading to confirmation of a cyber breach.  •⁠ ⁠Identification of roles and responsibilities.  •⁠ ⁠Immediate investigation and response by security teams to contain and mitigate the breach. Don't miss out on this informative session. Learn more about it here: https://lnkd.in/gbej3cdf #DEFENDTHENORTH #Cybersecurity

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While I agree that this is absolutely necessary and most definitely a step in the right direction the privacy and security concerns are mind boggling for healthcare systems integration at this scale. This will take careful planning with extensive advice from privacy and cybersecurity experts that do not have financial interest clouding their judgement. This can not be implemented the same way that internal systems integration is done today in healthcare. It will not be as simple as turning HL7 v2/3/FHIR on and opening the flood gates. I can't even start on the cloud risks here. Look at the recent Snowflake issues and imagine that on a national scale with the data being PHI of every Canadian citizen. Need I mention Change Healthcare? Please don't say AI. An exciting step in the right direction but if it's not built with privacy and security as a priority from the ground up we put the sensitive PHI of every single Canadian citizen at risk. Remember that "Streamline" and "secure" are often conflicting terms. #BillC72

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I has been a hard summer so far for Cyber Security compromises. You should know what repercussions there will be to you and your downstream clients and upstream vendors. I am going to guess that when people heard of the 'IT issue' currently ongoing at Federated Co-operatives Limited, you wouldn't be thinking that your food supply would be impacted. Also, the comment about no customer data being lost, please understand if you are a Co-op member, they have information related to filing tax information for you. Of course, this is only the latest 'IT issue'. Do you think your org has done enough to keep your business moving during an issue like this? https://lnkd.in/g3tgUPDg

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This is a huge problem. Every risk assessment available indicates that this is a top risk. Yet the Government of Canada falls short according to this audit by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada / Bureau du vérificateur général du Canada https://lnkd.in/gsTCx6S5 #ITsecurity #it #cybercrime #itaudit #audit #performanceaudit

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📄 Are you ready to navigate Alberta’s modernized access to information framework? Bill 34: Access to Information Act is transforming how public bodies handle requests for information, ensuring transparency while safeguarding sensitive data. Here’s what you need to know: • 🕵️ Enhanced Information Rights: Individuals have clearer and stronger rights to access records held by public bodies. • ⏳ Streamlined Processes: Simplified and efficient workflows for responding to access requests. • 🔒 Protection of Sensitive Information: Stricter exceptions to disclosure safeguard personal privacy and public safety. • 👥 Third-Party Considerations: Clear rules for notifying and involving third parties during access requests. • 💼 Accountability Measures: Independent oversight from the Information and Privacy Commissioner ensures compliance. ⚠️ Non-compliance is not an option. These updates reflect Alberta’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the digital age. ✅ Be prepared. Schedule a free consulting session with RSec Group to optimize your processes and ensure compliance with Alberta’s modernized access to information standards. 📩 Contact us @ https://rsecgroup.com/ #IBMpartners #IBMAmplify #RSec #IBM Freddy Alves Vaquero, Ian Wight, Pena, Nick Lisle, 🔐 Gabriel Murcia, Vivian Calderón Ballesteros, Lindsay Carreau, Paola Arbelaez, Rafael Bernabé Abad Figueroa, Pablo Luna, NATALIA DEL RIO, Johanna Ramirez, Claudia Patricia Rojas Medina, Eric Cranfield, Jamie Thrower, Elsa Patricia Pilonieta Matis, Jennifer Bila Casimiro, Alessandro F. B. Cardoso, Juan Diego Mesa Morales, Alejandra Guzmán, Mike L. Murphy, Monika Okorn

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About May news 👌🏻 The Newfoundland Broadcasting Company, responsible for NTV and OZFM, disclosed a cyberattack and data breach. While on-air operations remain unaffected, the attackers, identified as the Play ransomware group, accessed company systems and threaten to release sensitive data online. The stolen information includes budget, payroll details, and client documents. A Cybersecurity analyst advises caution, urging the company not to pay the ransom unless absolutely necessary. Immediate steps should include bolstering cybersecurity measures, conducting a thorough investigation, and implementing robust data protection protocols to prevent future breaches. To know more steps to protect your business from ransomware click here 👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/ddd28KWs #cybersecurity #cloudsecurity #emailsecurity #cyberthreats #dubai #egypt #cybersecurityservice #cloudsecurity

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Interested in Threat Hunting and Cloud? In #BSidesEdmonton, we have another presentation from two security experts, Kai Iyer-Anoop Krishnan and Chi Phong Huynh both from EY Canada. Kai manages Applied Machine Learning Research and Security Engineering, holds multiple certifications and has extensive knowledge in various domains, including Web-App Development, Data Science, Incident Response, DevSecOps and Purple Teaming. Phong works on threat hunting, detection research for cloud environment, Azure Sentinel, AWS and develop Jupyter notebooks to support his daily incident response and investigation tasks in cloud and on-prem environment. Kai and Phong's session will explore the capabilities of Jupyter notebooks as a powerful tool to enhance threat hunting capabilities, especially across cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and AWS. The focus is identifying common attack Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) utilized by threat actors, introducing detections mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework and threat hunting methodologies backed by unsupervised machine learning. To know more about the speakers and details, check out https://buff.ly/4aUna24! #cybersecurity #conference #speaker #announcement

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According to StatCan, Canadian businesses didn't increase their investments in information security in 2023. But- they paid MORE in recovery costs! Yikes. "The impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses, 2023": https://buff.ly/3BUOUrI We're eager to see how 2024 went. Because truly, like that Fram Oil Filter commercial from the 70's, “an ounce of information security is worth a pound of financial loss.”

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The Communications Security Establishment reported last year that it blocks billions of cyber attempts against Government of Canada networks each day. #CyberMonth2024 #GC institutions must notify the OPC and TBS of all material #privacy breaches, which are breaches that could reasonably be expected to create a real risk of significant harm to an individual. In 2023-2024, the OPC received 321 reports of cyber incidents from the private sector, and only 37 from federal institutions. If your institution experiences a material #breach, don’t forget to report it. Our new secure online breach reporting form is making it easier to report: https://lnkd.in/dG5TS7cT

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