Canadian Security Executive Forum to offer cyber training

Bonnie Butlin, the managing director of the CSEF, says she expects more to join this group as these sessions draw nearer. The initiative is being held in collaboration with the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE), the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance Canada (NCFTA- Canada), and the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).
 
The CSEF was born out of a larger network called the Canadian Security Partners Forum. Formed in the Ottawa area in 2011, the network quickly grew. It now encompasses tens of thousands of Canadian security professionals, present in every province and territory.  According to Butlin, it has even spread beyond its national audience reaching about two million around the world at its peak.

The smaller CSEF now has just over 640 participants following its formation back in December. Butlin is quick to point out that participating in these networks is not the same as having a “membership” within an association. There are no fixed requirements or guaranteed benefits. Instead it’s more of a community where participants can “plug-in” to leverage the know-how and resources that are being exchanged, and “un-plug” whenever they choose.
 
The breadth of expertise and the reach of these networks have made them the fingers on the pulse of the security industry in Canada. Not only do they provide a sense of the capabilities within the industry but they have also been very effective at identifying the gaps. “Cyber security training among executives is one of those gaps,” Butlin says.

The same network that has identified the need also provides the platform to bring together the associations that can address it. “[Together, they] bring a contextualization and an understanding of the cyber situation and the challenges that we face in a way that one, two, five, ten associations could not,” Butlin adds.

Though the program will be technically informed, the sessions themselves will not be focused on technical aspects. Instead they will look at cyber security from a strategic standpoint.

The first sessions in B.C. and Montreal are set to begin in October of this year.
 
The IAWGCS and its participating associations are highlighted on the CSPF website, http://cspf-forum.ca.