Trust and confidence in cyberspace

Since 1999, all schools and libraries in Canada have been connected and roughly 62% of the households have access to Internet. In addition, Canada has one of the lowest communication costs among the other countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As citizens, businesses and government go on-line, security concerns arise, particularly concerns over the increasing use of broadband. Although an estimated 71% of communities in Canada are still without broadband, there is an operating plan that targets 100% usage by the end of 2005. Once this goal is achieved, dealing with cyber security and vulnerability to attack will become an imperative issue.

Increased connectivity equates to decreased security: the government will be challenged by several issues, such as telecom infrastructure, information security, privacy, spam, illegal and offensive content, war driving, cyber attacks, etc. As the telecommunications economy becomes more deregulated, there is a reduced profit margin in the industry, consequently leading to reduced investment in infrastructure and reduced security. In addition, the horizontal architecture of the Internet sector makes it even more susceptible to vulnerabilities.

The speaker also discussed the previously mentioned tensions between privacy and security. Security must be maximized but requiring the minimum amount of information collected. Finding the balance between both is the challenge. Promoting global privacy standards, such as the OECD Privacy Guidelines would be helpful towards assuring privacy and security.

The role of the government is crucial in promoting cyber security for businesses, citizens and the government itself. Its responsibilities should be the following:

• Coordinating national strategies for cyber security.

• Collaborate with industry to develop counter-measure strategies.

• Develop plans to enable emergency responses.

• Develop education and prevention policy.

• Coordinate international cooperation.

In Canada, a new approach is being taken by the government which includes the establishment of the New Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness; the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP); a legal framework and enforcement capability; a close co-operation with industry.

This is indeed a multi-dimension task that requires a national and international strategy with full pledged support. More information on the topic can be found in the following sources:

• Connecting Canadians - www.connect.gc.ca

• Consumer Connection - www.strategis.gc.ca

• Strategis - www.strategis.gc.ca

• Electronic Commerce - www.e-com.ic.gc.ca

• Strategy - www.innovationstrategy.gc.ca

• Investment Partnership Canada - www.investincanada.gc.ca

William McCrum
Deputy Director General, Spectrum Engineering
Industry Canada
McCrum.William@ic.gc.ca