We are all part of Dawson’s cyber defence plan

Before the pandemic, technology was very important. Over the past year, our technology has become even more critical and has allowed us to continue our work and teaching by providing the space to meet and platforms to work on and share files.

However, this critical technological infrastructure has come under unprecedented attack. Last fall, a number of public institutions were attacked. In September, a CEGEP went through a chaotic period and had to suspend classes for several weeks because of a major cyberattack.

Pandemic = more cyberattacks
“The pandemic has brought more cyberattacks,” said François Paradis, Director of Information Systems and Technology at Dawson. “The College has layers of protection and is constantly monitoring for vulnerabilities and breaches.  Now, the College will be doing more and all employees are requested to support these efforts.”

The Government of Quebec has set up centres for cyber defence in every government ministry, which are named Centre opérationnel de cyberdéfense (COCD), and each public institution is expected to have a plan to protect itself.

15 measures in cyber defence plan
In February, CEGEPs were asked to detail an action plan by the Ministry of Higher Education’s COCD. Dawson submitted a plan that includes 15 measures to protect data and systems from cyberattack.

“The entry point for hackers is usually humans,” said Henry Yang, a Network Security Analyst in the IST Department. “One of the major components of our cyber defence plan is to train our employees and to raise awareness about these threats.”

Next D News will feature phishing
Preventing phishing is an important goal in Dawson’s cyber defence plan. This will be the first part of the plan to be implemented in the next month. There will be more information and resources about phishing in the April 20 edition of D News.