Ericsson partners with Cdn. universities to drive AI response and bolster cybersecurity
by CM Staff
This R&D initiative will build cyber resilient and secure 5G networks through automation and AI that can detect, protect and prevent attacks on 5G and future 6G networks.
MONTREAL — Ericsson announces that it is entering a partnership in an R&D initiative with Concordia University, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Waterloo and the National Cybersecurity Consortium (NCC). The NCC leads the Government of Canada’s new Cyber Security Innovation Network (CSIN) program that will provide up to $80M in funding to support cybersecurity initiatives across Canada.
This R&D initiative will build cyber resilient and secure 5G networks through automation and AI that can detect, protect and prevent attacks on 5G and future 6G networks.
Jeanette Irekvist, President, Ericsson Canada, says: “Canada is a leader in cyber security and similarly, our researchers and experts at Ericsson have long been studying how to best innovate and secure telecommunications networks. It’s our hope that this partnership with Concordia University, the University of Manitoba and the University of Waterloo will help support the field and the adoption of made-in-Canada solutions. As we celebrate 70 years in Canada, it’s partnerships like this that continue to drive our success here.”
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, says: “In an increasingly digital world, trust is key to Canadians achieving their full innovative and economic potential. With this investment, the Cyber Security Innovation Network is strengthening our cybersecurity ecosystem by fostering partnerships to bridge sectors. The National Cybersecurity Consortium, Ericsson and university partners are showcasing how collaboration between the private sector and academia will ensure the innovations of today can thrive in the economy of tomorrow.”
Mobile network platforms now serve as highly critical components within national infrastructures, supporting both mission and business critical processes across sectors including energy, utilities, logistics, public safety, and manufacturing operating in a new mobile cloud paradigm.
Professor Mourad Debbabi, Director at the Security Research Centre, Concordia University, says: “Ericsson’s involvement with Concordia and the NCC allows our common vision to become reality. Thanks to Ericsson, we can now proactively enhance 5G networks’ security to benefit all Canadians. Our collaboration will also enable us to train top cybersecurity talent across Canada.”
5G networks already ensure extremely high levels of resilience. However, the adoption of new business contexts and use cases at scale will also place unprecedented new demands on the network, generating complex security and privacy requirements, as well as a growth in potentially unsecure devices. To ensure the integrity of national infrastructures, the 5G platform must remain secure and highly resilient.
Ericsson will build on a 5G platform’s resilience and security through the research and development of new innovative AI techniques that can enhance and automate the current security of 5G networks by new means to detect zero-day attacks. Ericsson will also explore the impact of AI-based solutions in predicting upcoming attacks and detecting ongoing attacks, as well as applying 5G orchestration capabilities to test and deploy new defense mechanisms at run time.
The project is expected to lay a strong foundation to advance the development of AI capabilities in mobile networks and will serve as a springboard into ongoing research of upcoming 6G networks.
