A Brampton-based cybersecurity centre is expanding its free training and consulting model nationwide, backed by a $3.5-million contribution from Google.org, the search company's philanthropic arm.
The Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst announced the funding Wednesday morning, according to BetaKit. The money will launch Cyber Clinics Canada, a national network of clinics that will train post-secondary students and new cybersecurity professionals to provide free cybersecurity consulting to public and community organizations.
The program is a national expansion of the Catalyst Cyber Clinic, which launched last year to offer cybersecurity support to Canadian non-profits and community groups.
Catalyst founding executive director Charles Finlay described the clinics as "a teaching hospital for the digital age."
"Much like teaching hospitals give future healthcare professionals practical experience while serving patients, cyber clinics give learners the opportunity to tackle current cybersecurity challenges under expert supervision, while providing smaller organizations with support they may not otherwise be able to afford," Finlay said in a statement.
Growing need, growing attacks
The Catalyst opened in 2018 as a national cybersecurity centre based out of Toronto Metropolitan University, with a mandate covering training, research and commercial innovation in the field.
Since then, cyberattacks have grown more frequent, a trend tied in part to the spread of artificial intelligence tools. An IBM report released earlier this year found a 44-percent year-over-year increase in attacks on public-facing software and system applications.
Google Canada vice-president and country manager Sabrina Geremia said in a statement that building a "strong, diverse, and skilled cybersecurity workforce is more important than ever."
"Cyber clinics are a proven, scalable model, and expanding this program across Canada will meaningfully improve access to cyber education while delivering critical support to vulnerable organizations that serve Canadians," Geremia said.
Hands-on work, with guardrails
Clinic participants will not respond to active cyberattacks. Instead, they will help organizations with vulnerability and risk assessments, phishing and digital hygiene training, incident response planning, and regulatory and privacy compliance.
The Catalyst said the program will also give institutions such as universities the tools and knowledge to set up cyber clinics of their own, with the goal of building out Canada's cybersecurity workforce.
For Brampton, the announcement cements the city's role as the home base of a national cybersecurity initiative, one that pairs learners hungry for real-world experience with smaller organizations that often lack the budget for professional security advice.
