Date of Award

Spring 5-20-2019

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Computer Science

First Advisor

Steven Hilkowitz

Abstract

Cyber security is one of the growing concerns across the 21st Century world. For the private sector, proper cyber security allows organizations to protect themselves against the increasing threat of cyber-attacks. These businesses play a critical role by implementing robust security infrastructures that ensure, to the extent possible, the protection of personal and corporate data. At the same time, governments have a major role to play in influencing the decisions that organizations make, especially as it relates to customer data. The current privacy and cybersecurity landscape in Canada has developed over time as a way to hold organizations accountable in protecting the customer information that they collect in the course of their business.

This analysis considers the research question of whether or not the existing legislative/regulatory framework in Canada is sufficient to deal with the cyber threats being faced by individual corporations. There is both a shared interest and, arguably, responsibility in addressing the risks associated with cyber threats among the government, private sector, and individuals. However, sharing a common interest against a shared threat, while important, does not necessarily override the expectations that businesses and citizens have respecting unfettered access to the Internet. As a result, for the government, the dilemma becomes one of balance; balance between achieving the appropriate level of regulation in order to protect users of the internet and their overall individual liberty to operate in the cyber world.

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