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Top of Mind in Tech: Carlos Conde on how the feds are trying to stay a step ahead of the cyber bad guys

David Sali

October 16, 2024

Editor's Note

Top of Mind in Tech is an occasional feature that asks Ottawa tech leaders what’s keeping them awake at night.

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Carlos Conde understands all too well a complex issue that’s given more than one business leader sleepless nights: how to thwart hackers from infiltrating online networks in an ever-more interconnected world. For the past two and a half years, the veteran Ottawa tech executive has served as the Canadian public sector lead for Tanium, a U.S.-based firm that specializes in IT management and cybersecurity software. Tanium is working with the federal government to modernize its cybersecurity technology, a process that includes identifying the biggest security threats facing government systems and figuring out the best ways to tackle them. A native of France who moved to Ottawa at age three, Conde is a passionate advocate of the National Capital Region’s tech ecosystem. In the latest instalment of Top of Mind in Tech, he discusses the importance of cybersecurity, why it can be difficult to implement in large organizations, and how Ottawa provides a unique opportunity for the public and private sectors to collaborate on new innovations. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Cyberattacks are a threat that can't be ignored

“Individuals understand cyber issues when it relates to being hacked – their accounts are compromised or funds are being taken out of their account. When you start dealing (with threats) at a much higher level, the federal government, you’re talking about impacting the food supply chain, the banking process, travel. You’re looking at actual service disruptions. The discussions we have on a regular basis are really around trying to understand where problems exist, where we are vulnerable. You can’t protect what you don’t know, and you can’t fix what you don’t see. Having that visibility and awareness is key, because everything stems from that. “It’s great to figure out what we’ve got, but then it’s, if we do have a problem, how do we fix it? The next step is really to understand what’s been impacted and how we move forward. A lot of organizations … they find something that’s wrong, but they struggle to fix it. By the time they catch up, something else has already happened. So it’s a vicious circle. “The third area is around … how we prevent (cyberattacks). Bad actors don’t work 9 to 5. They’re there 24-7, they’re well-funded, they’re global. So if you are on their radar, it’s about being able to have the right partners, the right technology and the right skills in place to not only catch up but stay ahead, because (your systems) are constantly being attacked.”

Cyber threats are constantly evolving

“It’s kind of like when you look at a house. There are lots of doors and windows. Each one of them, if you don’t check them, if you don’t know if they’re locked, if there’s an alarm system, it’s hard to say you’re safe. You have to constantly be doing that, but it’s hard to do when you start moving from a manageable size, where everything was in an office, to now, our network is in coffee shops, it’s in Wi-Fi access points, it’s in people’s homes. It’s a much broader network. Those are all now entryways (for hackers). Organizations don’t have the skills and resources to manage that exponential growth. Partners like Tanium bring that technology, artificial intelligence, automation … and can help them not only catch up but stay ahead of the issues that they have to deal with. “There needs to be better education. Because not being aware is more dangerous than anything else. Hackers love that. If you don’t pay attention to your digital footprint, they could be doing things without you knowing. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. And people need to understand how to protect themselves. Unfortunately, there are too many vulnerable sectors that are still exposed.”

Challenges of working with the public sector

“I think the government has always struggled with managing processes and having to go through extensive layers of approvals. A lot of those things end up causing grief for organizations (that are trying) to adopt better technology. I think that’s what a lot of them are looking at doing is getting better at the process, getting more streamlined. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, but taking advantage of things that have already been proven out in other governments, in other public-sector organizations, and being able to do that at a much quicker pace. I think cyber(security) is something that pans across all parties. It puts Canada and its citizens at the centre, and that’s something that every leader needs to pay attention to, because it affects everyone, no matter who’s in power. “Mobile access to everything in our lives means we want instant results. Deploying software over years and waiting for decades for something to be at the level it’s supposed to be is not sustainable. We need to be able to access what we’ve bought and take advantage of the technology in a matter of weeks and months, not years and decades. Our work with the government of Canada is really about helping them adopt the technology, take full advantage of everything they’ve purchased. My team and I are really focused on helping the government achieve quantifiable results – verifiable information that says, ‘We bought something to do X. We’re able to deliver on X and more.’ When it comes to IT … it’s about, did we check the right things? Are we getting value for the things we spend money on? I think for me as a taxpayer, it is about being able to balance a lot of those things and be able to say, ‘I’m helping the government achieve things faster and cheaper.’”

Being a government town has helped Ottawa become an innovation hub

“Ottawa has always been an incredible location for talent. Ottawa (has had an) ability to not only grow innovation, but cultivate it by having the right investors, by having the younger generation excited about what’s coming next. I think one of the things that the government is doing better is funding innovation and giving entrepreneurs the ability to take ideas and nurture them and grow them and have them (become) a reality. I think Ottawa has been a great city to do that. “It’s too bad that Silicon Valley North doesn’t have quite the shine it used to, with some of the bigger organizations leaving. But I think the shadow that (cast) over the smaller organizations has gone away, and it’s opened the door for a lot of entrepreneurs to thrive. Government will always be there, but I think it will be better if it can offer the ability for the younger generation to enter the public-service ranks. You don’t join the public service for the paycheque, but there are a lot of amazing things that the two (sectors) could work together on, and I think Ottawa is getting better at it. “We seem to be a town that often focuses on the things that aren’t going well, but there’s a lot in Ottawa that’s pretty amazing.”