HOW THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO’S CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY INSTITUTE IS DRIVING CANADIAN INNOVATION
Privacy issues area growing priority for policy-makers around the world, and canada can help shape the future by leading this conversation.
Digital disruption is evolving the cybersecurity landscape at breakneck speed. Privacy legislation is far from uniform across the globe, and compliance with said legislation — even in jurisdictions with relatively robust laws, like Europe and Canada — is likewise inconsistent. Meanwhile, massive quantities of personal data are being collected, stored, and distributed in ways that are unknown to the average user.
Policy must keep up with the pace of technology, and businesses must, in turn, adjust their activities in line with privacy best practices — especially given the increasing frequency of data breaches.
Maintaining personal privacy is increasingly becoming a concern for Canadians, and the University of Waterloo has the nation’s foremost education and research program led by Canada Research Chair in Privacy Enhancing Technologies Ian Goldberg. “Many companies store unnecessary amounts of personal data and distribute it inappropriately,” says Goldberg. “This is a major liability. Companies should be much more fastidious about what data they collect and how they use it.”
Leading- edge research centres are the key to a future where personal data is safe
To address these problems, theworld needs strong, collaborative research centres, where security specialists work together to tackle a growing range of cybersecurity problems and create recommendations for policy-makers. Canada has the potential to be a global force in cybersecurity, and with world-leading research strengths in everything from crypto graphy to machine learning, the University of Waterloo is uniquely well-positioned to drive Canadian innovation.
Professor Goldberg and his team have created off the Record (OTR) Messaging, an innovative system that protects the privacy of Internet communications, and is used by billions of people around theworld. Just as many of the methods that ensure the security of cellphone communication were created by university of waterloo research, ensuring that Canadians maintain personal privacy and Canadian companies protect private data are central goals of the privacy- enhancing technologies group.