GeekWeek 7

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is proud to host GeekWeek 7, taking place Oct. 22 to 30, 2020, as a fully virtual event.

GeekWeek is an annual workshop organized by the Cyber Centre to foster collaboration between the Government of Canada, critical infrastructure Critical infrastructureProcesses, systems, facilities, technologies, networks, assets, and services essential to the health, safety, security, or economic well-being of Canadians and the effective functioning of government. Critical infrastructure can be stand-alone or interconnected and interdependent within and across provinces, territories, and national borders. Disruptions of critical infrastructure could result in catastrophic loss of life, adverse economic effects, and significant harm to public confidence. partners and academic researchers to address vital problems facing the cyber security Cyber securityThe protection of digital information, as well as the integrity of the infrastructure housing and transmitting digital information. More specifically, cyber security includes the body of technologies, processes, practices and response and mitigation measures designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access so as to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability. industry. Participants are given time and resources to conduct intensive research and development, and then devise and implement their own solutions to prevent, analyze or mitigate cyber threats.

What makes this workshop more than a typical hackathon is a selection of resources not available anywhere else. From advanced tools to millions of spam email samples, GeekWeek enables participants from every part of the cyber security spectrum to collaborate in new ways and improve the landscape.

Note that because of the technical nature of the workshop, GeekWeek is an invitation-only event.

GeekWeek is an annual workshop organized by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) to bring together key players in the field of cyber security to generate solutions to vital problems facing the industry.

GeekWeek offers a unique opportunity for participants to focus time and resources to conduct intensive research and development in the prevention, analysis and mitigation of cyber threats. The event enables representatives from Critical Incident Response Teams (CIRTs), Critical Infrastructure Partners (Government, Finance, Health, etc.), academia, and international cyber security partners to collaborate in new ways and improve the overall cyber security landscape.

GeekWeek has been held annually since 2014 and has delivered over 80 projects that have contributed to major innovations in the fields of malware MalwareMalicious software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system, without the owner's consent. Common forms of malware include computer viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, and adware. analysis and detection DetectionThe monitoring and analyzing of system events in order to identify unauthorized attempts to access system resources. , cyber health, network traffic and log analysis, to name a few.

History

GeekWeek started when the Canadian Cyber Incident Cyber incidentAny unauthorized attempt, whether successful or not, to gain access to, modify, destroy, delete, or render unavailable any computer network or system resource. Response Centre (now part of the Cyber Centre) identified a need to foster stronger collaboration within the cyber security community. The solutions oriented workshop was created to be an environment where participants work together on projects that drive innovation in cyber security.

With very modest aspirations, the first edition captured the attention and interest of both federal and industry organizations with triple the expected number of attendees. Since then, the event has grown from a 3-day workshop to an 8-day event. The 2019 event welcomed 222 participants who collectively worked 18,000 hours researching, developing and implementing new and innovative ideas. That’s the equivalent of 9 employees working full-time for a year!

Results

GeekWeek has produced innovations and advances in the following areas:

  • Malware detection
  • Spam and log analysis
  • Mobile malware analysis systems
  • Anti-ransomware
  • Tools and techniques to detect cyber threats
  • Information sharing technologies and standards
  • Cyber sovereignty/geographic data flows
  • Cyber health and forecasts
  • Botnet traffic analysis
  • Hardening of IoT devices
  • Industrial control systems assessment
  • Fly-away kit/laptops
  • Enforcement processes
  • Automated malware analysis

Why Attend GeekWeek?

This year, GeekWeek will be virtual. Participants attending GeekWeek benefit from:

  • A unique environment of knowledgeable cyber experts to address concerns and challenges within the community.
  • Access to advanced tools, and millions of samples of spam emails, malware, and analysis reports.
  • Increased awareness of resources and solutions currently available to cyber security professionals.
  • Moving forward new ideas, innovative solutions and information sharing.
  • Increased collaboration and information sharing between partners.
  • Networking with cyber security community of experts and development of professional relationships.
  • Better understanding of challenges faced by peers in the industry.

Learn More

To learn more about GeekWeek, please contact the Cyber Centre.

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