Three out of four Quebecers own a computer and regularly surf the Net. More and more of us swear by our cell phones, Blackberrys and iPods. The information and communication technologies (ICT) sector has experienced phenomenal growth since the 1990s: by 2004 in the Greater Montreal area alone, more than 110,000 people in 2,700 companies generating exports worth more than $4 billion. By 2010, this cluster projects 15,000-25,000 more jobs, a 30% increase in exports and 25% more R&D jobs.
Our dependence on ICT has a downside, of course, with computer bugs and ceaseless attacks by hackers on corporate and personal databases. These devastating problems can cause millions of dollars in damage. Information systems security is now a major ICT industry in itself; in this area of research, Concordia University is leading the pack.
No one - governments, societies or individuals - escapes the imperatives of information security. Information systems are critical to our infrastructure in transportation, health, telecommunications, agriculture, energy, etc. The security of these systems directly affects national security and safety.
Researchers at CIISE (Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering), created in June 2002, specialize in information security work. CIISE offers a unique multidisciplinary environment for education and research in digital communications, in association with National Defence, Alcatel, Bell Canada, Ericsson and others, a well as research funding agencies such as NSERC, FQRNT and PROMPT Quebec.
Mourad Debbabi, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the CIISE, says the challenge is to develop processes, techniques, tools and robust scientific foundations for detection of vulnerabilities and attacks on information systems, their protection and reinforcement for security purposes, and for criminal investigations which handle and interpret evidence of cybercrime—all the subject of major research projects at CIISE.
“I am very happy to be at Concordia,” says Debabbi, “a dynamic university which fosters a spirit of initiative, collaboration, academic freedom and innovation—the parameters required for scientific success.” He and his colleagues have also helped to create graduate programs that are unique in Canada. The results of this new dynamic? More than 200 students with degrees in this field where demand is enormous, ready to fill the great need in government and industry.
The challenge to secure our infrastructures is tremendous especially in foreign theatres of operations. We strongly support this initiative on digital security at Concordia since it addresses a high priority of our investment strategy. Also, R&D activities at CIISE are carefully studied and documented before they are carried out which confirm the high level of professionalism among the research team.
Robert Charpentier,
DRDC Scientist
Defence R&D Canada
Established in 2001 by an academic consortium (Concordia and UQAM were founding members) with industry, Hexagram is Canada’s largest research group uniting artistic creation and media technology. Its labs, housed at Concordia, push the limits of innovation in interactive performance and sound; interactive television and virtual communities; robotic arts and artificial intelligence; adaptive broadband and wireless video; emerging cinema and virtual characters; interactive textiles and wearable computers; advanced digital imagining and rapid prototyping; and immersive environments, virtual reality and digital gaming.
Page Title: Competitive Cluster - Information Technology - Dr. Mourad Debbabi - Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Page URL:http://www.concordia.ca/clusters/infotech/index.php
Date Printed: Mon May 21, 2012
