In this special report resulting from research conducted in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Canada, eight experts present case studies examining different aspects of cyber operations targeting democratic electoral processes, through a shared Canadian and German lens. They offer key findings and make recommendations on how to protect elections from potential threats posed by foreign interference and next-generation cyber tools.
Crypto advocates welcomed President Joe Biden’s executive order on March 9 directing US government agencies to forge a unified approach on crypto. But, as Paul Blustein writes in this opinion first published in Fortune, that development pales next to the world’s response to the invasion of Ukraine. The financial sanctions imposed on Moscow have highlighted the global dominance of the US dollar — which has far greater ramifications for crypto, and none of them favourable.
After the shock of the 2016 US presidential election, many assumed Russia had developed a dominant information warfare machine as a part of its hybrid warfare strategies. Yet the consensus seems to be that Russia’s much vaunted information operations capability has greatly underperformed. In war, much can change quickly but, as Stephanie Carvin explains, there are already some possible explanations for this failure.
Political propagandists have moved to messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram, targeting disinformation at minority communities who rely on the apps for keeping in contact with friends and family and conversing about politics. The apps’ encryption makes the disinformation flow even more difficult to research than on more public sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and the task of understanding and combatting it more challenging still, write Inga Trauthig and Samuel Woolley.
We focus a lot on the internet’s potential to transcend borders. But in this episode of the Big Tech podcast, writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola discusses with host Taylor Owen how our experience of the internet is profoundly place-bound, with authoritarian regimes and their digital controls being the most extreme examples of why borders matter.
Lee Carson and Brian Mersereau argue that it’s time for Canada to move forward resolutely and quickly on critical defence procurements and infrastructure investments. Key among these efforts is the modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Rather than investing in all defence technologies equally, Canada should focus its efforts where it already has world-class capabilities, and in areas where a domestic capability is essential to its national security.
A new report by the Institute for New Economic Thinking’s Commission on Global Economic Transformation, with CIGI President Rohinton P. Medhora, explores insights into how COVID-19 was addressed by African leaders, the challenges they encountered and the impacts on African economies. Read the full report here.
Apr. 6 and Apr. 7 – 1:00 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): Register now to attend this virtual conference on health data jointly hosted by University of Waterloo and CIGI. In afternoon sessions over two days, speakers will explore the intersection between health data, digital health and governance for the betterment of our society and improved public health outcomes. Featuring leading experts throughout Canada and globally, the conference aims to inform and educate, while encouraging constructive dialogue. Registration is free to all.
On Thursday, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and CIGI co-hosted the fifth Annual IP Data & Research Conference, during which Ruth L. Okediji spoke on “The Policy Boundaries of Creative Machines: AI and Intellectual Property.” You can watch the keynote address here.
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