A powerhouse partnership in cybersecurity
This week, media and guests gathered on Concordia University of Edmonton’s (CUE) campus to acknowledge the challenges presented by cybercriminals and inaugurate a significant partnership between CUE and Treefort Industries Inc., a leading company in cybersecurity systems.
Cybercrime is on the rise and this is a critical concern for individuals and businesses. CUE is taking a proactive approach by partnering with Treefort to help the company achieve Systems and Operations Controls 2 (SOC2) compliance that will expand the knowledge in this sector and contribute to improving the digital fraud prevention, data privacy and security controls for service providers.
Barbara van Ingen, CUE’s Vice-President Academic & Provost, shared her enthusiasm for welcoming Treefort to the university, saying that “one of the key strengths of CUE’s cybersecurity programs lies in the active engagement between its professors, students, and industry leaders.”
Isha Katyal, Associate Vice President of Innovation at CUE, emphasized the partnership’s goal of implementing strong protocols for data privacy and security in industry. “This collaboration will expand the university’s knowledge of regulatory compliance for digital transactions, while also providing valuable training opportunities for Concordia students,” Isha explains.
CUE is being noticed by industry as a resource for providing top-talent in cybersecurity. “After an extensive global search, Concordia’s programs stood out as the best choice for deepening the knowledge of professionals already experienced in the field,” says Kim Krushell, co-founder of Treefort. “This partnership allows Treefort to benefit from the insights and skills of students who bring eight years of practical experience to their studies at Concordia.”
CUE’s Master of Information Systems Security Management (MISSM) program started in 2005 and the Master of Information Systems Assurance Management (MISAM) program is celebrating 10 years of training graduate students. Alison Yacyshyn, Dean of the Faculty of Management at CUE spoke of our unique courses saying, “Our programs ensure students receive cutting-edge curriculum and we offer specialized cybersecurity courses to ensure our graduates receive training that will set them up for success.”
The partnership between CUE and Treefort has had a big impact on students involved in the work-integrated training. Student Pooja Shah, enrolled in the MISSM program, commended Treefort’s work in “bridging the gap in the market and stopping bad actors.” She expressed pride in being a part of this important endeavor.
Siddharth Dua, a student enrolled in MISAM, said he was grateful for “gaining industry experience and applying theoretical knowledge in a real-world setting.” Both students shared their positive experiences of working closely with the Treefort team, especially thanking them for their support and expert knowledge.
In a captivating closing speech, Jay Krushell, co-founder of Treefort, highlighted the prevalence of organized crime in Canada, particularly in relation to high-value real estate transactions. “Fraudsters adeptly exploit false identities when using driver’s licenses to bypass existing safeguards – deceiving realtors, lenders, and lawyers. To combat this pervasive problem, Treefort has developed multi factor authentication technology that goes beyond just looking at government issued ID to confirm the identity of an individual,” says Jay. To learn more about Treefort www.treeforttech.com. Jay stressed that businesses will have better protection if they implement this technology and expressed gratitude to CUE for taking their company to the next level.
The partnership represents a powerful collaboration – combining the expertise and resources of both CUE and Treefort. This week’s launch is the start of addressing complex challenges in cybersecurity head-on.
