Invited Speakers

Christine Beauchamp is the Director of Client Engagement & Incident Detection at the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, in the Communications Security Establishment. Christine joined CSE in 2005 and spent most of her career there using communications technology to provide foreign intelligence to the Government of Canada. She specialized in security operations, deployed abroad in support of the military and counter-terrorism efforts. She was also the Manager for SIGINT Policy, Oversight & Compliance, where she worked on legal and privacy requirements in conducting intelligence operations. In 2018, she joined the cyber security mission of CSE with the creation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, where she is responsible for providing cyber security services and training to Canadians, and monitoring GC networks for threats and compromises.

Cléo Ascher is the Head of Entrepreneurship in Polytechnique Montréal since 2016. Cléo leverages 15 years of experience in several domains related to innovative entrepreneurship and change management. She previously worked on initiatives supporting entrepreneurship at CDPQ and the OECD. She also worked as a consultant for multiple companies. Cléo holds a Master degree in Management from HEC Paris.

Tiago is a former academic with a PhD in mathematical physics, his passion has always in been in the real world application of advanced mathematics. First in financial markets, then in nano-electronics, and now in cyber security.

For the last 13 years, Tiago has been working at the heart of the government's cyber security effort to keeping Canada safe from cyber threats. Working his way up from a SME [subject matter expert] to the I/C [in charge] of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) NSIC [National Security Criminal Investigation] cyber unit, Tiago worked closely with CSE (Canadian Security Establishment), CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service), and DND (Department of National Defence). At Natural Resources Canada, he headed a lab tasked with protecting the nation's critical infrastructure from would be cyber attacks. Hundreds of industry professionals from nuclear, hydro-electric, and natural gas industry were trained on cyber security under programs created by Tiago.

Frustrated by the limitations of the cyber tools at his disposal, Tiago created his own - SMART-Sentinel is the patent pending cloud based solution for the detection of anomalous activities on end point devices. Tiago is the Co-founder and CTO for CYDEF a Canadian Cyber Security company.

Doctor in cybersecurity, graduate of the University of Besançon and the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon in France, Karim Ganame has 16 years of experience in IT, including 14 years in the field of information security. After working for several years as a senior information security consultant in large companies, he founded the company StreamScan. With a strong focus on R&D and innovation, StreamScan brought to market the first computer intrusion detection system (IDS) in Quebec. This tool, called CDS, uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect anomalies and new-generation cyber threats targeting computer networks. These cyber threats are then blocked in order to minimize or eliminate the impact of security incidents. CDS technology is currently used to protect the computer networks of many companies and governments in Canada and internationally. Finally, StreamScan’s CDS was selected as a national innovation by the Canadian federal government.

Very active in the field of R&D and technological innovation, Dr. Karim Ganame is the author of a US patent on the detection of new generation cyber threats. He also has several international publications in world-renowned academic journals and conferences.

He holds the highest certifications in the field of GCIA computer intrusion detection (GIAC/SANS Certified Intrusion Analyst), security incident response (GCIH – GIAC/SANS Certified Incident Handler) and CISSP certification.

Dr. Karim Ganame is also a lecturer in cyber security at École Polytechnique de Montréal.

Longtime infosec enthusiast, Yassir Kazar is a serial entrepreneur who founded his first startup while finishing his studies. Afterward, he pursued a career in IT services and became staff manager in Business Intelligence at CGI, while teaching at Paris Descartes University. He contributed to the launch of the local branches of the Open Knowledge Foundation and Ouishare, a thinktank dedicated to the collaborative economy. In 2015, he founded Yogosha, “defender” in Japanese, a trusted platform for CrowdSourced Cybersecurity and private Bug Bounties, which aims to grow all over Europe, but also in Africa and in the Middle East. In 2020, he has been listed among the Top Influencers in Security & Fire for 2020 by IFSEC Global in the Commercial security and security Executives category.

Régis Lhoste - CEO of Cyber-Detect.

- Holds a Master in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Nancy II.

- Information Technology Project Leader for the Lorrain Incubator.

- Founder and former CEO of the Startup Sailendra: Management and "Business Development" in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

- Specialization in personalized recommendation services and CyberSecurity.

Syrine Tlili holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems Security from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. She also obtained her Diploma of in-depth studies (DEA) and her national Engineer Diploma from the National School of Computer Sciences, Tunis, Tunisia.

She currently holds the position of Director-General of the National Agency for Digital Certification – TunTrust.

In her current position at TunTrust, she has led a set of projects program aimed at building a digital trust framework that propels sustained growth in the digital economy at the national level. Among the major projects, she carried out: Setting up the national PKI in compliance with international standards encompassing WebTrust and ETSI 319 411-1 & 2, building an integrated system management compliant with ISO 27001: 2015 and ISO 9001: 2008. She also contributed to different digital transformation projects aiming at building digital identities and digital trust, thereby contributing to economic growth and social inclusion.

She was Assistant Professor at the University of Carthage from 2012 to 2014 in fields related to CyberSecurity. Syrine Tlili also headed the Open Source Software Unit at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies from 2009 to 2012. From 1999 to 2004, she headed the Systems and Networks Security Department of the Tunisian Internet Agency.

As President of the Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), Joni builds on nearly 20 years of experience in digital identity innovations and standards development. She helps DIACC to fulfill its vision of unlocking interoperability of public and private sector capabilities through the establishment of an identity trust framework that will grow Canada’s economy. Joni builds impactful relationships and formalizes strategic partnerships between organizations. She serves as co-Chair of Working Group 1 of the Standards Council of Canada's Data Governance Standardization Collaboration. She has participated in committees and initiatives around the world including: OECD-ITAC, ISOC, IEEE, OASIS-SSTC, ISO SC27 WG5, and more. Joni is recognized as a One World Identity top 100 global influencers of identity.

Dr. Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan is the founder and director of the Cybersecurity Research Lab (CRL) at Ryerson University. Mashatan’s expertise at the frontlines of the global cybersecurity field was recognized by SC Magazine in 2019, when she was named one of the top five Women of Influence in Security. She was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 19 of 2019 Tech Titans at IBM CASCON Evoke conference for her efforts in developing emerging technological solutions to address timely societal needs. In 2020, she received the Enterprise Blockchain Award in the category of New Frontiers in Blockchain Academic Research by Blockchain Research Institute for developing the Mosaïque Digital Wallet, which is a fully decentralized identity management system for business environments. Most recently, she received the recognition of Top Women in Cybersecurity in Canada for her efforts in advancing cybersecurity research and training highly qualified personnel in the field.

Patrick Patterson is President and Chief PKI Architect at Carillon Information Security. He has over 20 years' experience designing and building scalable high trust identity management systems. His work includes writing the standards for PKI for the Civil Air Transport industry, and participation in the Aerospace and Defense community building PKIs for cross-certification with CertiPath. He has extensive experience working with a variety of standards organizations, including the IETF, ICAO, ATA Digital Security Working Group, IATA, and the Transglobal Secure Collaboration Program, where he has advised on topics including PKI, Secure Digital Signatures, Identity Federation, and scalable identity infrastructures. Most recently, he led the team at Carillon to achieve cross-certification with the SAFEIdentity bridge, bringing the team's experience to the healthcare and pharmaceutical community.

Claude has a legal background and extensive experience in managing technology companies, managing large-scale projects and providing strategic advice on information security and privacy protection.

He has also developed leading-edge expertise in identity and access management, particularly with respect to digital identity use and digital signatures. He is fully conversant with all legislation, standards, processes and technologies used to secure electronic transactions. He has always worked in highly complex professional environments and fields of activity, including those of health, justice and education.

He has, in particular, accompanied several public organizations and companies in the different phases of reflection of his clients on the governance, management and positioning of security within their organizations. He has also advised them on the specific security measures to be implemented in response to their business needs and, in particular, with respect to the digital transformation of their business processes and their business relations with their various clienteles.

Since last October, Claude has held the position of Vice-President, Strategic Relations for the Canadian Digital Identity Lab and also acts as a strategic advisor in digital transformation at Notarius.