On December 6, 2021, the federal ministers of Defence, Public Safety, Emergency Preparedness and International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development (the Ministers) released anĢżĢżto Canadians discussing the rise of ransomware attacks and offering guidance for organizations to curb this trend. Among the resources included in the letter, the Ministers refer to aĢżĢżrecently published by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (the Cyber Centre).

In the open letter, the Ministers discussed the significant rise of ransomware threats targeting small and medium-sized businesses, health care organizations, utility organizations, and municipalities. During these attacks, threat actors would lock the organization out of its systems and only allow access once a payment is made, usually in a form of digital currency. To assist Canadians in this matter, the Ministers are working to provide the public with specific advice and guidance.

The Cyber Centreā€™s Ransomware Playbook is one of the newly released resources for Canadian organizations to better prepare against ransomware. The Playbook provides organizations with a basic understanding of the landscape and guidance on important issues, such as whether they should pay a threat actorā€™s ransom. It also includes suggestions on proper measures for organizations to mitigate the impact of these incidents. The Playbook is organized into the following two sections:

1. How toĢżdefendĢżagainst a ransomware attack, such as using
   1. cyber defence planning strategies like the implementation of backups systems and incident response plans; and
   2. cyber security controls throughout the organizationā€™s network to add further protection.
2. How toĢż°ł±š³¦“Ē±¹±š°łĢżfrom a ransomware attack, including
   1. immediate response actions to bring an organizationā€™s system back under control after an attack; and
   2. recovery actions that will help an organization successfully rehabilitate its business for the long-term.

In closing the letter, the Ministers urged Canadians to take cyber security seriously and develop a proper protective infrastructure with updated technology measures that will make them well-prepared in their response to such incidents.

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First Off, what really is AI?

Traditionally, computers were thought to be creatures of instructions. However, over six decades ago, the umbrella term, Artificial Intelligence, was coined to refer to a computerā€™s ability to make decisions without direct human intervention. According to Arthur Samuels, it is ā€œa field of study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed.ā€ that allow for human-like responses to problems by identifying patterns from enormous pools of data. From , , , to , AI is literally in our faces and has the potential to infiltrate nearly every aspect of our lives.

AI Poses Both a Risk and Opportunity

Cyberspace, despite its many advantages, continues to be exploited. Since 2013, . AI provides a unique opportunity to bolster cybersecurity solutions by utilizing predictive analysis capabilities. Almost and it appears cybercriminals are always a step ahead because .

AI is a game changer, which can allow for a more proactive and dynamic approach to cybersecurity. For example, deep learning technologies can , run numerous simulations, and predict potential attacks and respond accordingly.

However, AI comes with a number of risks, such as threat agents using AI to develop automated attacks that learn and adapt to vulnerable systems in real time. AI models also thrive on data, so bias or false positives could adversely affect decisions or actions taken by the algorithm. Issues of accountability and even tort liability may arise if the AI model goes rogue and does what it was not programmed to do.

Managing Director and CEO of ABCLive Corporation, , expressed that the capacity of AI to learn and evolve will undoubtedly exceed human capacity. For example, in 2016, where its sutures were found to be superior and done with more precision. As astounding as this may be, there are still risks to consider. If this AI bot was somehow compromised and succumbed to a cybercriminalā€™s ransomware attack, human lives could potentially be at risk.

Privacy vs. Security ā€“ Do We Tradeoff or Can We Have Both?Ģż

So, how can these risks be mitigated? It appears that efforts to do so could impact privacy rights or even the fabric of a nationā€™s security.

According to Benjamin Franklin, Jurisdictions around the world continue to struggle with this concept, especially in light of autonomous AI weapons and other national security concerns. , special counsel, Yigal Armon & Co. and former Israeli legal advisor for the National Security Council, argued that an invasion of privacy might be a necessary trade off in some instances, . Keidar posited that while an individualā€™s privacy rights should be protected, the concept of freedom also extends to border security issues and other national security concerns. Clearly, this topic is a mammoth task for governments, so a natural corollary is that in order to preserve the security architecture of a nation, tools need to be developed to allow for a certain level of security. Consequently, in an attempt to keep citizens safe, this invariably might encroach on individualsā€™ privacy rights. Conversely, privacy expert maintains that it is quite possible to have both privacy and security. Cavoukian argues that over oneā€™s data and this should be reflected in free and democratic societies. Her proposed approach seeks to change the paradigm from flawed ā€˜zero-sumā€™ models to ā€˜positive-sumā€™ models. Privacy and security would no longer be competing interests because measures safeguarding privacy would be proactively embedded into technological operations and security considerations. Cavoukian predicts that the implementation of the (GDPR) in May 2018 will replace current privacy laws in all European Union member countries, making privacy the default. As such, the use of data will be ā€˜user-centricā€™ and only used for the purposes it was collected for. Entities who do not abide by the GDPR could face fines of up to 4% of their global revenue. Cavoukianā€™s proposed would allow for transparency and oversight of algorithms with high levels of accountability, which could help to facilitate ethical algorithmic designs and data symmetry.

Is Legislation the Answer?

Technology enthusiasts around the world, including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, argue that AI is an existential threat to humanity and are calling for nations to . Indeed, there are concerns about AIā€™s impact on weapons and privacy rights, but whether legislation can restrain this ā€˜monstrous beastā€™ is moot. Not only are there jurisdictional issues as it relates to regulating AI in a borderless Cyberworld, but AI is evolving and do not have a good of .

Even if policy makers manage to develop a legislative framework for AI, that is only one aspect of this labyrinthine technology. Other issues to grapple with include potential job losses in those roles at risk of automation. For example, a revealed that due to AI bots taking over assembly line work traditionally done by humans. Ģżdue to automation as well. Even the legal fraternity is not immune, especially with talks of possibly replacing lower-level legal assignments carried out by articling students or junior lawyers. Governments would also need to consider wider economic implications such as the decline in tax dollars received from those jobs.

AI could boost by 2035, so policy makers should be cautious in over regulating this invaluable resource that could drive innovation. Over regulation could possibly stifle growth in AI by making it a less attractive field for investors. For example, a potential backlash could be Google and other tech giants such as no longer investing in Canada.

Perhaps more work needs to be done in developing ethical oversight of AI; particularly teaching AI the unique aspects of human values like privacy and freedom. who have been for over 30 years, so their expertise in determining the extent to which these principles can be reflected in AI technologies could then inform legislation. Canada would then need to focus its policy lens on training and research, thus building and sustaining Canadaā€™s AI ecosystem.

Andrae Campbell is an IPilogue Editor and an LLM Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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Cybercrime is a growing global problem that no company or country can tackle alone. At any given time, an estimated 150Ģż000 viruses and other types of malicious code are circulating across the internet, infecting more than a million people every day.

Anti-virus software developer McAfee counts 75 million unique pieces of malicious malware code on its databases, with botnets spewing out spam that account for a third of all the emails sent every day. Bots are one of the most sophisticated and popular types of cybercrime today. They allow hackers to take control of many computers at a time, and turn them into ā€œzombieā€ computers, which operate as part of a powerful ā€œbotnetā€ to spread viruses, generate spam, and commit other types of online crime and fraud. The worldwide cost of cybercrime is estimated at over ā‚¬750 billion annually in wasted time, lost business opportunities and the expense of fixing problems.

In addition to developing wider cybersecurity strategies for Europe, the European Commission takes concrete actions to tackle cyber security risks, and pools resources with national governments, industry, universities and NGOs, to develop innovative technologies to improve cybersecurity.

For the period 2007-2013, the European Commission has spent about ā‚¬350 million in cyber security research; from 2013 to 2020, ā‚¬400 million is earmarked to support key enabling & industrial technologies such as cyber security, privacy and trust technologies, and an additional ā‚¬450 million is earmarked for ā€˜Secure Societiesā€™ research which includes aspects of cybersecurity.

The following EU-funded projects address the big issues facing cybersecurity: cost, speed and long-term security; helping to keep computer users one step ahead of the hackers, Trojans and viruses plaguing the online world today.Ģżto read more.

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