Cybersecurity touches every aspect of the digital world. Using digital tools and resources responsibly is not only important to protect our own information, but the data and privacy of all the members of the community we are a part of. When doing digital research, cybersecurity cannot be an afterthought. It needs to be at the at the forefront when designing data management plans, developing and configuring software or planning to transfer sensitive data to external tools and services.
Cybersecurity Resources
McGill University
McGill ITS have extensive cybersecurity tools and resources for researchers, students, and university staff. A good place to start is on the McGill Secure your Journey page. The McGill Cloud Directive page will help you understand the different types of research data and how to perform due diligence before sending data to external tools and services in order to ensure our data is safe and to respect laws and regulations. As Data Trustees for research data, researchers are responsible to assess cloud solutions for compliance and risks. If you need assistance to perform this due diligence, please consult the How-to section of the Cloud Directive pages or drs [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Cloud%20Service%20Assessment) (contact us).
Government of Canada
Research organizations are increasingly targeted by espionage and foreign interference activities. The Canadian government is actively developing strategies towards the safeguarding research assets and monitoring how this is done in the rest of the world. More information can be found below:
- Safeguarding your research
- Research Security Policy Statement – Spring 2021 (from ISED)
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service - Public Report 2020
- Cybersecurity resource links from Tri-Council
CANARIE
CANARIE, Canada's National Research and Education Network, leads a national Cybersecurity Initiative Program which funds initiatives that will strengthen the whole sector through their regional partners.