The first edition of the Strategic Forum on Cybersecurity was held on October 4 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. Over 400 participants and 30 panelists gathered in hybrid mode for the occasion, with the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region, Jean Boulet, and the Minister for Government Digital Transformation, Éric Caire, in attendance. They discussed the risks of accelerating needs related to the digital transformation and solutions to implement to protect businesses from cyberattacks. The watchwords were collaboration, an integrated approach, and cyber resilience.
BLOCK 1 – The city's key players in cybersecurity and their expertise
"There is awareness about cybersecurity issues. Regardless of their size, businesses have understood the risks. Now we need to promote the implementation of solutions." – Michel Leblanc, President and CEO, Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
"Providing cybersecurity training to address concrete needs is essential. This is a key ingredient for local business success." – Jean Boulet, Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Solidarity
"A digital transformation is essential for all actors, and we haven't even gotten our arms around the importance of cybersecurity. We need to see it as an investment, not an expense." – Éric Caire, Minister for Government Digital Transformation
Talk – Cybersecurity: Overview of a thriving ecosystem
"Our intention is to create a functional cybersecurity ecosystem in Quebec and Canada. Compared with other economic powers, Montréal has the beginnings of this capacity." – Pascal Fortin, Partner, Cyber, Technology Risk Consulting, KPMG
Talk – A start-up ecosystem buzzing with activity
"We need to engage in open innovation to be competitive. One business alone cannot address all the technological issues; we need to create an even richer ecosystem and better connections between businesses." – Richard Chénier, General Manager, Centech
BLOCK 2 – Raising awareness among companies of the importance of properly protecting and equipping themselves
Call for awareness: new cybersecurity issues
"A cybersecurity awareness plan is not a project; it's ongoing development. It includes messages that have to be repeated through different means." – Lise Lapointe, President, Terranova Security
Panel – Cyber resilience: solutions for mitigating risk
"People have to be at the heart of a cyber resilience strategy. People are the weakest link, but also the strongest, in a cybersecurity equation." – Nicolas Duguay, Director, Business Development, In-Sec-M
Talk – Boosting your company's agility and innovation while protecting it
"You have to count on the fact that the risk will materialize. The question is not whether you will be a victim of attempted data theft, but rather when." – Réjean Rhéaume, Director, Consulting Expert who specializes in governance, risk, compliance, and data protection, CGI
BLOCK 3 – Organizing the future of cybersecurity
Panel – Access to skilled talent, the key to industry growth
"You need the right talent to put in place good practices at every level of companies." – Mélanie Bosc, General Manager, TECHNOCompétences
Seminar – Working together to develop future cybersecurity projects
"Our network needs to be stable, reliable, and predictable. We need to think about controls that are different from the ones we put in place to protect confidentiality. Essential services are managed in real time." – Moshe Toledano, CISO and Director of Cybersecurity, Hydro-Québec
Panel – Promising initiatives for the future of cybersecurity
"Cybersecurity could allow us to go further, faster." – Marcel Labelle, President and General Manager, Cybereco
"If we can ensure our security, many advances will become possible. For example, in medicine, an entire generation of discoveries awaits us if we make progress in security." – Luc Sirois, Quebec's Chief Innovation Officer, Conseil de l'innovation du Québec
About the Strategic Forum on Cybersecurity
The Strategic Forum on Cybersecurity was organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. It was made possible through the invaluable cooperation of our Gold sponsor: KPMG; our Silver sponsors: La Presse, Montreal Gazette and Prompt; as well as our Bronze sponsor: Loto-Québec. The event was produced in partnership with Cybereco and was made possible through the financial participation of the Government of Quebec.