In Policy Magazine's new Emerging Voices series by students, five Max Bell School MPPs were invited to write articles on issues important to them.
The first article is "No Time to Waste in Canada’s Tryst with Cyber Warfare" by Naveen Kanwadia. Naveen Kanwadia is a master’s student at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and prior to starting his graduate studies, was handling public policy and regulatory affairs for The Walt Disney Co. in Asia.
Researchers at McGill University and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have designed an algorithm that detects organized human trafficking activity in online escort advertisements. Advertising is one the most common use of technology for human trafficking purposes.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has named China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea’s state-sponsored cyber activity as posing the “greatest strategic threats” to Canada’s critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and political events like elections.
The scam, known as "SIM swapping," involves fraudsters moving or "porting" phone numbers to a new device and then gaining access to personal information through apps and other data. Researchers at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology detailed the many ways that SMS two-factor authentication can go wrong, including multiple failings on the part of carriers to vet SIM-swap requests. (WIRED)
Here is an expert from McGill University that can provide comment on this issue:
Cyber security breaches at LifeLabs, Desjardins, Capital One, and TransUnion underscore t
Organized crime is moving online and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is struggling to keep up, according to a briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki when she took over the top job earlier this year. CBC
Allen Mendelsohn – Faculty Lecturer, Faculty of Law, McGill University
Allen Mendelsohn is a Montreal lawyer specializing in internet law. He teaches The Internet and Privacy course at the Faculty of Law.
“Some major internet companies suffered service disruptions for several hours on Friday morning as internet infrastructure provider Dyn said it was hit by a cyber attack that disrupted traffic mainly on the U.S. East Coast.” (CBC)
