TD Joins Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity

TD Bank Group (TSX:TD) announced on Monday (April 30) that it will become a founding corporate member and the first Canadian bank to join the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity (CIC).

According to TD, its involvement with the CIC will support its focus on investing in technology talent and will include the co-development of new cyber risk management technologies.

“We are building a digital bank for the modern customer,” said Jeff Henderson, TD’s executive vice president and CIO. “As the digital landscape evolves, we will continue to invest in technology partnerships and talent so that we can deliver innovative experiences that our customers can trust.” 

“The University of New Brunswick is fast becoming an international centre of cybersecurity excellence and we look forward to working with its multidisciplinary teams on real-world problems, while growing our technology talent base,” he added.

The CIC was launched in early 2017, and is a comprehensive multidisciplinary, training, research and development unit that draws on the expertise of researchers in various streams. Based at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton, graduate students will work directly with TD technology teams to develop and operationalize new threat assessment methodologies and algorithms.

“It’s an exciting time for both the University of New Brunswick and the province. UNB is uniquely positioned to translate the collective knowledge of its students, faculty and research staff into solutions that will play a role in helping to protect the networks of some of the world’s largest organizations, and the province will benefit as UNB establishes itself as a centre of excellence for cybersecurity in Canada,” commented Frank McKenna, deputy chair at TD.

Ali Ghorbani, director of the CIC and Canada research chair in cybersecurity at UNB, said that cyber threats have quickly moved to the top on the list of things that companies monitor in security issues.

“Our teams are developing next-generation technology solutions in partnership with leading industry players like TD, deepening defences against emerging cyber threats not just in Canada but around the world,” Ghorbani noted.

Last year, TD opened a cybersecurity office in Israel and in the process became the first Canadian bank to tap into one of the world’s leading markets for cybersecurity skills and talent.

“Customers and employees need to transact with confidence in the digital era,” said Colleen Johnston, TD’s group head, technology, marketing and corporate and public affairs.

Kaspersky Lab said in a report that 72 percent of Canadians and 81 percent of Americans have admitted to feeling stressed by the news of data breaches.

“With massive data breaches and cyberattacks making headlines nearly every week, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the cybersecurity risks out there,” said Brian Anderson, vice president of consumer sales at Kaspersky Lab North America.

“With no way to gain control, the very idea of cybersecurity becomes completely overwhelming. By educating consumers about cyber threats and how to avoid them, technology companies can do their part to help to reduce our community’s collective cyber-stress.”

TD was trading at $72.30 as of market close on Tuesday (May 1). Its share price was up 0.26 percent.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bala Yogesh, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.