Northern College first school to adopt national cybersecurity standard
Many post-secondary institutions are vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to CyberCatch, a firm tasked with getting small- to medium-sized organizations up to date with Canada's new standard for cybersecurity.
Northern College is the first in Canada to sign up for the firm's program, which scans for vulnerabilities, fixes them and teaches staff how to be safer online.
"The bad guys — criminal gangs or frequently foreign governments, actually — have realized that the educational institutions don't have good cybersecurity because they don't think they'll be attacked and are vulnerable," said CyberCatch's founder and CEO Sai Huda.
"(Our system) identifies these kinds of vulnerabilities and helps the educational institution fix them, so the attacker cannot exploit it."
The firm's recent study scanned more than 12,000 organizations across North America for cracks in their cyber shields and discovered that around 80 per cent of them were vulnerable.
Amongst post-secondary institutions, the study found around 70 per cent could be devastated by hackers.
Though many schools upgraded their digital technology to make online learning more accessible during the pandemic, Huda said most left cybersecurity by the wayside in assumption that they wouldn't be of interest to online attackers.
Aaron Klooster, Northern College's vice-president of academic and student success, said while the college has been mindful of cyber security, having a prescribed system that can identify and solve an extensive list of vulnerabilities is reassuring.
"We know there are instances across North America, where post-secondary institutions were targeted," Klooster said.
"It's really a matter of making sure we don't get caught in a position like that and protecting, not only ourselves and our employees but, of course, our students."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.