RBC is investing $1.78 million into a cybersecurity research lab at the University of Waterloo with the goal of developing advanced cybersecurity and privacy tools.
“Collaborating with the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics and their pool of talented researchers will give us more brain power to continually develop Canadian talent to support the demands of the cybersecurity industry,” said David Fairman, chief information security officer at RBC. “This partnership is important to RBC as we’ll be able to leverage Waterloo’s unique capabilities in mathematical science as it applies to tackling increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.”
CryptoWorks21, a research program focused on post-quantum cryptosystems, will also be supported.
The funding is supporting research in four areas:
- Data-driven software defined security, led by Raouf Boutaba, will focus on detecting and mitigating security threats using machine learning and AI.
- Privacy-enhancing technologies, led by Ian Goldberg, will focus on the safety and security of consumer metadata, including identity and location.
- Post-quantum cryptography, led by David Jao, will focus on a unique blend of pure mathematics and computer science that produces a data encryption so strong that quantum computers cannot crack it.
“This project provides our researchers with what they need to excel and provides RBC with access to Canada’s premiere talent in cybersecurity,” said Stephen M. Watt, dean of the faculty of mathematics at the University of Waterloo. “The area of cybersecurity is highly technical and complex, but is essential for all aspects of modern society. These technologies, from network protection to mathematical cryptography, are central to personal privacy online, safe national infrastructure and trustworthy commerce.”