IESO partners with Canada-Israel Industrial Research & Development Foundation to foster cybersecurity innovation
July 3, 2019
The IESO has entered into a strategic partnership with the Canada-Israel Industrial Research & Development Foundation (CIIRDF) to exchange operational insights and share best practices on cybersecurity measures that will help better protect Ontario’s power grid from the increasing prevalence and sophistication of cyber threats.
“Our partnership with the CIIRDF provides a benefit to the overall security of Ontario’s electricity system and helps expand our connections as an industry globally,” says Alex Foord, the IESO’s Chief Information Officer. “We look forward to working together on this important initiative.”
In addition to exchanging operational insights and best practices on an ongoing basis, the IESO and CIIRDF will assist each other in establishing strong lines of communication and relationships with leading participants across Ontario’s and Israel’s cybersecurity ecosystem.
“No matter how strong your cyber defense is, it can be stronger through establishing partnerships and fostering greater collaboration with organizations across the industry and beyond,” says Ben Blakely, the IESO’s Senior Manager, Information Security. “Partnering with the CIIRDF on this initiative will help build even greater resiliency into Ontario’s electricity grid.”
Established in 1994 under a formal mandate by the Canadian and Israeli governments, the CIIRDF promotes and supports technological cooperation between companies in Canada and Israel, and is integrated within the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), an agency of the Israeli government.
“The strategic partnership between IESO and CIIRDF will result in technological cooperation between cyber experts in Israel and Canada in areas specifically identified to fill gaps in ensuring the resilience of critical infrastructure,” says Henri Rothschild, President of CIIRDF. “This will benefit all parties as Israeli firms will be well positioned to provide solutions, Canadian firms will improve their technological capabilities and Ontario’s energy system will be better protected.”
One of the initiatives included in the work plan of the IESO’s Innovation Roadmap, the partnership is the culmination of a year-long bilateral partnership pilot on cybersecurity between Natural Resources Canada and the IIA.
To learn more about the agreement, read the Letter of Intent. For more information on how the IESO is collaborating to help increase the sector’s cybersecurity resilience, check out the article on ieso.ca.
