Enhancing Cybersecurity Readiness in an Era of Digital Disruption

May 18 – 1:30 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): Shelly Bruce, chief of the Communications Security Establishment, joins CIGI for a virtual event focused on the importance of deterring malicious cyber operations and technologically enabled risks to Canada’s national security. A question period moderated by Aaron Shull will follow.

CIGI asked three experts — Robert Gorwa, Dia Kayyali and Sonja Solomun — to consider how regulatory responses, born of New Zealand’s voluntary, non-binding governance initiative, have impacted the spread of extremist content online, and what hurdles lie ahead.

Companies lose billions of dollars every year through trade secret theft, and governments worldwide are developing legislation to mitigate these losses. Dan Ciuriak and Maria Ptashkina look at trade secrets’ growing importance and how trade secret theft occurs, arguing that protecting intellectual property rights must not come at the expense of the innovation-intensive economy.

People’s confidence in decision makers and belief that justice will be served are low all around the world and go beyond their leaders’ success in curing a disease or healing the macroeconomy. Restoring faith in governance and public action is a public good that would prepare us for myriad other challenges, as Rob Johnson and Rohinton P. Medhora discuss.

The activities of platforms such as Google reach into hundreds of countries. But focusing on their market reach obscures the reality that, above all else, they are American companies, and that identity brings its own interests, as Blayne Haggart explains.

Data is the most important thing we have. The ability to protect the privacy of Canadian citizens now comes down to the governance of data. We need to protect it, harness it safely and prevent it from being weaponized against us, writes Aaron Shull in this op-ed, published recently in The Hill Times.

Jun. 8 – 1:30 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): As part of CIGI’s continued work on reimagining a modern Canadian national security strategy, we are pleased to host Vincent Rigby, national security and intelligence advisor to the prime minister of Canada. Rigby will discuss his role in responding to national security challenges; a question period moderated by Aaron Shull will follow. Please note that the date for this event has been updated.