Research and training centre focused on fighting cybercrime opens in Calgary

A new research and training facility dedicated to teaching university students how to fight hackers, viruses, and data privacy breaches opened in Calgary this week.

The University of Calgary said in a media release that the centre comes as cybercrime is on the rise across the country.

The Cyber Assessment, Training, and Experimentation Centre opened Tuesday. The U of C worked with industry groups Enfocom and Raytheon Canada, which helped fund the centre.

Enfocom CEO Herbert Fensury said cybercrimecan be a significant threat to businesses.

"It could take down a large corporation, and for smaller corporations that don't have the cash to carry them through that can mean bankruptcy," Fensury said on CBC'sThe Homestretch.

Fensury said students will also learn how to launch their own attacks with the latest systems.

"Think of it as a sandbox that you could play in. So having had it all set up, they could then attack their system their own system of course inside this lab, using the most current ransomware, viruses or any sort of cybercrime tools," he said.

"If they find holes, OK, they know where to plug the holes."

This month the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said organized cybercrime groups are likely to pose a threat to the nation's security and economy over the next two years, and ransomware attacks are now the most disruptive form of cyberattack facing Canada.

Ransomware is a type of cyberattack where criminals encrypt the victim's files and then demand a ransom, typically in the form of cryptocurrency, in exchange for a decryption key.

Calgary Police Service Staff Sgt. Graeme Smiley of the cyber/forensics unit said in a media release that they will also be creating more training opportunities and increasing investigative capacities for cybercrimes.

In a media release, CPS said cybercrime reports have grown more than 70 per cent since 2017 though they noted that these types of incidents are underreported.

The Calgary Police Service has received 19 reports of ransomware attacks so far this year.