Cyber security a serious issue for Canadian agencies and political parties in 2008
October 08, 2008
VANCOUVER, CANADA – October 8, 2008 – October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, a time when Canadians are reminded to take online security precautions to protect themselves from hackers and ID thieves. But how safe is Canada right now when it comes to web security?
But web security breaches are still a major threat to these positive developments. A few examples:
* Alberta’s auditor general announced this month that hackers had penetrated hundreds of supposedly secure government systems and that government information systems are weakly protected.
* An online database reportedly containing the records of 48,000 students in Newfoundland and Labrador was breached by hackers.
* Passport Canada reports a security breach that could have exposed the information of all visitors of its website to cyber criminals.
“Government agencies are building security into the online applications to protect the constituents who use their services, but it’s tough for them to keep on top of the constantly strengthening threat from hackers,” notes Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd. President Vaclav Vincalek.
“The number of voters going to political campaign sites is increasing, so hopefully campaign staff are building security into their web applications so these online visitors are not put at risk. Just imagine the consequences to a campaign if someone discovered that a party’s website was infecting every computer used to browse it. Industry analysts suggest just one in 30 websites is safe, so this is not an unlikely scenario. ”
PCIS’ Boonbox division offers IT security solutions and Vincalek is a speaker at security-related conferences across North America.
About PCIS – www.pcis.com
Pacific Coast Information Systems (PCIS) Ltd. is a technology and consulting firm based in Vancouver. Founded in 1995, PCIS offers packaged infrastructure and network solutions that enable organizations to address security and compliance issues within today’s complex IT environment.
About Boonbox – www.boonbox.net
Boonbox, a division of PCIS, was created in 2007. Boonbox packaged service solutions are developed for customers for whom network security is a high priority. Boonbox enables companies to address security, compliance and data integrity issues.
Media Contact
Jonathon Narvey, Communications
Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd./ Boonbox (a division of PCIS)
700-1112 Pender Street West
Vancouver, BC
V6E 2S1 Canada
Phone: +1 (604) 844-7558
jonathonnarvey@pcis.com
www.pcis.com / www.boonbox.net