Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity opens at the University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick (UNB) announced on Monday that the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity (CIC) – an “innovative hub for research, training and industry collaboration” – opened at the university on Monday.

The Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity opened at the University of New Brunswick on Monday: Credit: UNB.

With more than $4.5 million in funding and the establishment of a research partnership with global technology firm IBM, the CIC will “train highly skilled cybersecurity professionals and provide leading-edge research into one of the most pressing issues facing society today,” UNB said in a statement.

Dr. Ali Ghorbani, Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity at UNB and dean of the faculty of computer science at the university, serves as director of the institute.

Dr. Eddy Campbell, UNB president and vice-chancellor, was joined by officials with the federal and provincial governments and representatives from IBM in Fredericton to celebrate the creation of the institute. Matt DeCourcey, Member of Parliament for Fredericton on behalf of the Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), as well as New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant joined Dr. Campbell for the opening of institute.

“The Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity is a culmination of more than 15 years of successful innovation and research in cybersecurity at the University of New Brunswick,” Dr. Campbell said in the statement. “The creation of the institute allows us to forge an even more crucial role in developing security measures necessary to protect modern critical infrastructure in Canada and beyond.”

The institute, housed at existing facilities on UNB’s Fredericton campus, is a comprehensive multidisciplinary training, research and development and entrepreneurial unit that will operate in close collaboration with researchers in the social sciences, business, computer science, engineering, law, and science, as well as other national and international research centres, UNB reported.

The institute was made possible with $2.27 million in funding from ACOA’s Innovative Communities Fund and through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. The provincial government provided a contribution of nearly $2 million, while UNB is adding $330,000 in funding.

Aiming to transform its economic landscape toward a knowledge-based economy, New Brunswick is strategically focusing on innovation in cybersecurity, UNB said in the statement. The worldwide cybersecurity market is large and growing, with market sizing estimates ranging from US$75 billion in 2015 to US$170 billion, the university suggested, adding that the size of the market is a response to the rising global cost of cyberattacks, which is expected to grow to US$2.1 trillion by 2020. “As a result, there is intense interest in the development of new-generation cybersecurity solutions.”

IBM is the institute’s first research and development partner, helping to fund highly skilled resources in the field of cybersecurity and other in-kind contributions, such as technical and management resources to provide project oversight and mentorship for students. IBM also maintains a research and development and customer support centre in Fredericton, which provides support for more than 5,000 customers around the globe.