CANADA GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVESCanada NewsWire Group

Government of Canada Announces Cyber Security Initiatives
OTTAWA, Feb. 2 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, today
announced two important cyber security initiatives. First, the Government of
Canada is the first signatory to an agreement to participate in Microsoft's
Security Cooperation Program (SCP), a global initiative launched by Microsoft.
Second, the Minister announced the establishment of the Canadian Cyber
Incident Response Centre (CCIRC), which will serve as Canada's focal point for
dealing with cyber threats to Canada's critical infrastructure.
"In a global environment where we are increasingly reliant on information
technology, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to reduce the
risk of cyber threats that could have an impact on our shared critical
infrastructure," said Minister McLellan. "By participating in Microsoft's
Security Cooperation Program and establishing the Canadian Cyber Incident
Response Centre, the Government of Canada is at the forefront of those
efforts."
Through the SCP, PSEPC's Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre and
Microsoft Canada will collaborate in responding to computer security incidents
and proactively seek to reduce the effect of cyber attacks. The SCP initiative
reinforces PSEPC's commitment to collaborating with the private sector to
enhance Canada's cyber defences, as outlined in the National Security Policy.
"Microsoft values the leadership role that Public Safety Emergency
Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) has taken in becoming the first signatory and an
early participant in Microsoft's Security Cooperation Program (SCP)," said
David Hemler, President, Microsoft Canada. "We look forward to collaborating
with the Government of Canada to address cyber threats more efficiently and
effectively through information sharing and applying our combined expertise."
A key SCP element is emergency response coordination for cyber
disruptions or emergencies, including 24/7 access to Microsoft expertise,
rapid information exchange and technical advice - while an incident is in
progress. Other key SCP elements include receiving advance notification on
security information to be released, as well as information about
vulnerabilities that Microsoft is investigating.
The establishment of the CCIRC is part of the Government of Canada's
initiative to build a fully-integrated approach to public safety. It is the
cyber security component of PSEPC's centralized coordination capacity for
emergency preparedness and response.
The CCIRC will provide cyber security services such as incident response
coordination and support, monitoring and threat analysis, as well as technical
advice and awareness for critical infrastructure owners and operators. CCIRC
will provide this cyber protection leadership and expertise at the national
and international levels.
The CCIRC can issue cyber threat warnings such as alerts and advisories
at a moment's notice. The CCIRC Web page, at www.psepc.gc.ca/ccirc , features
its cyber alerts and advisories, reports on best practices, technical advice
on how to recover from a cyber incident, and information on how to prevent
similar incidents in the future.
The critical infrastructure community can directly report cyber incidents
to the CCIRC, by contacting PSEPC's Government Operations Centre. Once the
information is received, a cyber triage unit can assess the information and
coordinate the appropriate response. The cyber triage unit is composed of
representatives from PSEPC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The establishment of the CCIRC strengthens PSEPC's commitment to
protecting Canada's critical infrastructure, which relies heavily on cyber
systems and networks. The CCIRC also works closely with the Government
Operations Centre in the event of a national emergency, as outlined in
Canada's new National Security Policy.

For further information on the SCP and the CCIRC, visit the PSEPC Web
site at www.psepc.gc.ca .

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CYBER SECURITY AND PROTECTING CANADA'S
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE


Overview

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) is providing
national and international leadership in cyber readiness and response.
PSEPC's Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) serves as a
central coordinating point for cyber security to deal with threats and
incidents impacting Canada's critical infrastructure - 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week.

Roles and Responsibilities

CCIRC performs the following functions:

- Incident response and coordination;
- Monitoring and analysis of the cyber threat environment;
- Warning and technical advice; and
- National awareness and capacity building.

When warranted, PSEPC issues cyber warnings as well as other cyber-
related information products to respond to potential, imminent or actual
threats, vulnerabilities or incidents affecting Canada's critical
infrastructure. Information is made available to governments at all levels, as
well as critical infrastructure sectors such energy and utilities,
communications, transportation, and financial.
The complexity and frequency of cyber security incidents warrants a
highly-integrated response. The CCIRC operates within the Government
Operations Centre and cooperates with other federal departments and agencies,
other levels of government, and private sector critical infrastructure
organizations, to ensure a coordinated and timely response to cyber security
incidents across Canada.
CCIRC will build on PSEPC's existing international relationships and is
designed for improved inter-operability with its allied partners. This
includes, for instance, cyber security incident response teams in the United
States, United Kingdom, and Australia
Information on the PSEPC CCIRC's products and services is available on
its Web page at: www.psepc.gc.ca/ccirc .
PSEPC is committed to protecting the safety and security of Canadians and
is the lead department for coordinating the federal response and recovery
efforts in the event of an emergency situation, whether natural or man-made.
Further information on PSEPC is available on its Web site at:
www.psepc.gc.ca .

Cette fiche d'information est aussi disponible en français.


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GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS CENTRE

Overview

- Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) is home to
the Government Operations Centre, which is located in Ottawa and
operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

- The Government Operations Centre provides strategic level
coordination and direction on behalf of the Government of Canada in
response to an emerging or occurring event affecting the national
interest.

- It also receives and issues information dealing with any perceived,
imminent or real threat to the safety and security of Canadians and
Canada's critical infrastructure.

- Information through the Government Operations Centre is quickly
verified, analyzed and distributed to the appropriate response
organizations.

Roles and responsibilities

- This is made possible through PSEPC's close operational links with
other Government of Canada departments and agencies,
provincial/territorial and municipal governments, the private
sector, and international organizations.

- If necessary, the Government Operations Centre can quickly increase
its resources and serve as the focal point for emergency government
operations, as well as help officials from other departments and
agencies analyze and respond to emergency situations as they evolve.
It can take just a few minutes for the response to move from the
local to the national level.

- Calling upon resources and experts in various fields, many of them
integral, the Government Operations Centre helps to ensure that the
right resources are in the right place at the right time. It
coordinates the response to help provincial or territorial
governments support their local authorities and first responders.

- As with any emergency situations, Canadians first and foremost are
advised to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies.
This includes taking the necessary basic emergency preparedness
steps.

- The Government of Canada offers a number of self-help advice
brochures, which are available free of charge by request at
communications@psepc.gc.ca , or they can be accessed directly at:
www.canada.gc.ca and www.psepc.gc.ca .

Cette fiche d'information est aussi disponible en français.


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PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND MICROSOFT
CYBER SECURITY COOPERATION

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) has signed an
agreement with Microsoft to cooperate on cyber security, an initiative which
supports the Government of Canada's commitment to strengthen its capacity to
predict and prevent cyber attacks, as outlined in the National Security
Policy. PSEPC's role involves providing leadership at both the policy and
operational level.
Microsoft's Security Cooperation Program (SCP) is a global initiative
that provides a way for governments and Microsoft to engage in cooperative
security activities in the areas of computer incident response, attack
mitigation, and citizen outreach. The goal of SCP is to work with governments
in addressing threats to national security, economic strength, and public
safety more efficiently and effectively through cooperative projects and
information sharing.
This Agreement advances the Government of Canada's evolving relationship
with Microsoft Canada as an element of our on-going mutual commitment to
enhancing public safety while fully respecting key Canadian values of
democracy, human rights and respect for privacy and the rule of law.
PSEPC's newly-created Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC)
serves as the Government of Canada's focal point for incident response, and
will collaborate with Microsoft Canada in actively addressing computer
security incidents. CCIRC and Microsoft Canada will exchange information that can be used to
better anticipate, help prevent, respond to and mitigate the effects of IT
security attacks and disruptions. Information will be exchanged concerning
vulnerabilities and threats.
This initiative is an example of the Government of Canada's commitment to
improving the safety and security of Canadians through innovative
public/private sector partnerships.
Further information on the SCP is also available on the Microsoft Web
site at www.microsoft.com/presspass/ .

Cette fiche d'information est aussi disponible en français.



For further information: Alex Swann, Director of Communications, Office
of the Honourable Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public
Safety and Emergency Preparedness, (613) 991-2863; Sarah Stewart Browne,
Microsoft Canada, Senior Consultant, (416) 368 8348 ext. 245; Media Relations,
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, (613) 991-0657