Ericsson partners with Canadian Universities on R&D initiative to drive AI-based cyber security

Ericsson is collaborating with Concordia University, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Waterloo in Canada on a flagship R&D initiative to build cyber-resilient and secure 5G networks through automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

"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," said Jeanette Irekvist, President, Ericsson Canada.

The Government of Canada's new Cyber Security Innovation Network (CSIN) program aims to provide up to $80M in funding to support cybersecurity initiatives across Canada. The program is led by the National Cybersecurity Consortium (NCC).

The industry-academia collaboration will enable the development of innovative cybersecurity solutions that can enhance and automate the current security of 5G networks by new means to detect zero-day attacks.

Additionally, Ericsson will explore the impact of AI-based solutions in predicting upcoming attacks and detecting ongoing attacks and also applying 5G orchestration capabilities to test and deploy new defense mechanisms at run time.

The initiative will drive the development of AI capabilities in mobile networks and will also serve as a springboard into ongoing research of upcoming 6G networks.

"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," said Professor Mourad Debbabi, Director at the Security Research Centre, Concordia University.