Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 04

CYBERSPACE & THE NATION-STATE W hile Covid remains the most visible threat looming over the Biden Presi- dency, a less visible but similarly porous (and somewhat related) threat stems from cyberspace. Recent incidents such as the far-reaching Solar- Winds breach and the attempted hacking of a water treatment facility near Tampa Bay Florida underscore the instability of cyberspace. Accordingly, President Biden’s May 2021 Executive Order is blunt. ‘The United States faces persistent and increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber campaigns that threaten the public sector, the private sector, and ultimately the American people’s security and privacy. The Fed- eral Government must improve its efforts to identify, deter, protect against, detect, and respond to these actions and actors.’ In Canada, the Communications Security Establishment reports that the federal government is the recipient of more than 1.5 Billion cyber-threats daily (most of which are harmless, though all it takes is one amorphous event). The 2018 creation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber-Secu- rity marks a notable step forward in terms of federal government readiness as well as fostering outreach with the private sector. BY JEFFREY ROY GOVERNING DIGITALLY 18 / Canadian Government Executive // July/August 2021