A minister against pirates | Press

Pirates on the horizon! Maximum alert!

The least we can say is that Eric Caire was entitled to a real baptism of fire when he took the helm of the brand new Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital, last week.

The “Log4Shell” security flaw detected in computer systems around the world forced Quebec to preventively shut down 3,992 government websites, including those of Revenu Quebec and Hydro-Quebec.

Further proof of the need to create this new ministry, with a portfolio of four billion dollars, to shield the government against attacks.

However, it is not just the government that needs to monitor cyber threats more closely. Companies also need to protect themselves better.

Cyber ​​threats are one of the biggest risks facing the Canadian financial system, according to the Bank of Canada. A successful attack can have serious consequences for the services offered, cause significant financial costs, damage business reputations and undermine public confidence.

It’s a cluster bomb that continues to wreak havoc long after the explosion. We saw it clearly with the monster leak that compromised the personal information of millions of members of the Mouvement Desjardins.

Unfortunately, what happened to the co-op could have happened elsewhere, because too many companies are dragging their feet when it comes to protecting personal information.

“There is a lack of proportionality between the volume of information that companies collect and the protection measures they put in place to protect this information”, had also affirmed the Commissioner for the protection of privacy of the Canada, after analyzing the flaw.

And his report was filed just before the pandemic struck.

However, the Grand Confinement has given a boost to technological development. According to consulting firm McKinsey, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by consumers by three years. For their part, companies have leapt forward six years.

So much the better. These advances have allowed us to keep the economy going, despite COVID-19. But they also accentuated the risks. For example, the use of homework has increased entry points into computer systems.

If he wants to protect Quebeckers, the new minister must therefore ensure that businesses – in particular less well-equipped SMEs – raise their level of security. Employee training, multi-factor authentication… you have to roll up your sleeves.

But the minister shouldn’t have only pirates in his sights.

Let us hope that it finally offers Quebecers a real digital identifier issued by the State. It is not normal that we are still asked for an identity card for another use, such as a driving license, as authentication.

The sovereignty of our data should also be on the minister’s desk. In the age of cloud computing, the digital life of Quebecers is stored by private companies. And when it leaves the country, our data is subject to foreign laws, which is worrying.

With the advent of the digital economy, personal information has become a gold mine for companies that profit from our data in every way.

Quebec has already taken a good step forward with the adoption of Bill 64 which modernized the Privacy Act. Unfortunately, user consent remains the cornerstone of our data protection. And this consent is quite theoretical when it requires the reading of a contract of dozens of pages.

We have to go one step further. Questioning the status of our data, which is the fuel of the new industrial revolution. Before 5G and artificial intelligence take us even further into surveillance capitalism, we need to tag the algorithms that are changing our lives.

Governments must stop being reactive. It’s up to them to take the helm.