Thousands of Canadian researchers depend on the critical infrastructure of advanced research computing, research data management and research software functioning reliably. Cybersecurity events and threats can impact a researcher’s ability to introduce new theories, methods, ideas or products that are essential to propel creativity and advance research discoveries that benefit Canadian society.
The Alliance’s cybersecurity mandate is to protect the digital research infrastructure (DRI) ecosystem. We are accomplishing this by working with our partners to establish and implement a national vision that will enhance the cybersecurity framework, covering governance, policies, technology and operations.
To achieve our mandate, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) has been adopted to develop the Alliance Federation Cybersecurity Strategy and Roadmap.
As part of this roadmap, several activities have been identified in risk management, security training and awareness, monitoring and auditing, identity and access management, vulnerability management and others based on the needs of our ecosystem.
Approved Cybersecurity Policies, Standards and related documents that apply to the Alliance Federation can be found here.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This global campaign focuses on education and awareness of how to stay secure online. With cyberattacks becoming all too common, never has the topic of Cybersecurity been more pressing or relevant.
The Alliance participates in Cybersecurity Awareness Month with training and support for Canadian researchers on the latest cybersecurity practices. Our cybersecurity mandate is to protect the digital research infrastructure (DRI) ecosystem—we’re here to help safeguard you and your research from cyberthreats.
2025 Cybersecurity Awareness Month events
More information coming soon.
Explore content from our previous events (2023–present)
Recordings of events from previous years are available on the Alliance’s YouTube channel.