As part of British Columbia’s ongoing work to protect government information systems, the Province is entering an agreement with the Government of Canada to enhance collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre).

This agreement will provide the Province with access to cyber defence services that will further enhance the ability to defend, detect and respond to cyber threats.  

By increasing cybersecurity collaboration among all levels of government it makes Canadian cyberspace a harder target, make it easier to respond effectively to incidents, and build resilience through a national culture of cybersecurity. 

Over the past several months, the Province has taken action to implement enhanced security controls based on guidance from the Cyber Centre and other partners. This includes: 

• implementing tools that give better insight into suspicious activity on B.C. government networks to enable a faster response to malicious cyberactivity; 
• implementing additional controls to enhance secure access to systems; and 
• engaging additional experts in cybersecurity in addition to the Cyber Centre and Microsoft DART, including Optiv Canada and EY. 

These actions build on improvements to cybersecurity put in place by the Province in recent years, including significant investments in Budget 2022.