This text is part of the special section Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity
Responding to the technical, human and societal challenges of the digital world requires developing increased collaboration between experts from diverse backgrounds. The fruit of the association between the University of Montreal, Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal, the Multidisciplinary Institute in Cybersecurity and Cyberresilience (IMC2) is part of this path.
How to organize yourself to fight against cyberattacks? By launching the Multidisciplinary Institute in Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience last May, the cream of Montreal university knowledge provided the beginning of an answer: concentrating its forces to better face an increasingly serious threat. “The international context means that there are many more attacks today than four or five years ago,” explains Frédéric Cuppens, director of IMC2 and professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering at Polytechnique. Montreal.
The development of new technologies, all as promising as they are vulnerable, has not helped the situation. “5G, the Internet of Things, and all these new technologies make our lives very different, but also change the attack surface and pose new security challenges,” continues Mr. Cuppens. These increased risks have highlighted the need to offer cutting-edge expertise, as well as to bring together knowledge on a subject that is by nature transversal.
On the importance of cyber resilience
“We created this Institute to meet the multidisciplinary requirements of cybersecurity,” underlines the director of IMC2, a center which brings together around forty professors and their research teams from UdeM, Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal. “The different branches of engineering are represented for issues related to energy, transport and health. But cybersecurity is not just about technology. We also need criminologists and economists,” adds Mr. Cuppens.
In recent years, the focus has often been on raising awareness of cybersecurity issues among citizens and businesses. By broadening its scope of action to cyber resilience, IMC2 wants to go further. “Today, people know what a phishing or ransomware attack is. They also understood that you had to manage your passwords well,” underlines the IT security expert. “Where we really need to move forward now is what we call awareness raising. »
A “first aid” kit
Being informed of the dangers to which we expose ourselves is one thing. Knowing how to act in the event of a cyber attack is another. It is precisely on this point that a crying need is felt. “There is a whole section of the population who are aware that this can happen, but who are worried because they have not been told what to do,” says Mr. Cuppens. “This is what we need to work on by reaching out to individuals and SME employees to raise their awareness. »
The idea is to offer them a “first aid” kit providing practical responses to acts of cybercrime. As such, the Institute can have a real effect on public policies. The thinking heads of the IMC2 are also considering establishing a “risk observatory” for the population. “In a constantly changing geopolitical environment, it seems important to us to see how the threat evolves in order to adapt our responses,” explains the director of the Institute.
A gap to be made up in terms of training
The rapid development of artificial intelligence also needs to be closely monitored. AI allows us to go further in terms of automation. But its lack of robustness exposes it to attacks. Which makes it a double-edged tool, as Mr. Cuppens points out. “We can poison AI with false information that can impact any system, from self-driving cars to systems that control a power plant. This is particularly worrying. »
In addition to offering a public service, IMC2 aims to ultimately develop the link between training and entrepreneurship. In Quebec, young companies developing cybersecurity products are unfortunately far too rare. In this area, there is still a way to go and certainly a gap to make up, by defining a new path which directs more students towards this type of projects integrating multiple knowledge.
“We are currently thinking about what the ideal training could be for entrepreneurs who want to get into cybersecurity,” says Alina Maria Dulipovici, associate professor in the Department of Information Technology at HEC Montréal, responsible for overseeing the component. of the formation of the IMC2. “With three universities involved in the project, we must pool our respective resources to create a multidisciplinary program. »
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