Professor Deepa Kundur of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering appeared on CBC News’ The National as part of a ‘Turning Point’ panel on the topic of ‘Canada’s Cyber-Spying.’ The segment aired Wednesday, October 8.

Professor Kundur, whose research focuses on identifying potential weaknesses in cyber-enabled systems, joined host Peter Mansbridge and panellists Brian Stewart, distinguished senior fellow at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child Canada and Mark Raymond of the Centre for International Governance Innovation at University of Waterloo.

The panel discussed the recent accusations of cyber-spying levelled at the Canadian government by Brazil, and potential ramifications cyber-spying could have on Canadians.

“I think one concern we should have as Canadians is if our government wasn’t doing this, from a perspective of national security,” said Professor Kundur during the discussion. “But I think what is raising concern is because there are economic reasons for this particular event. It is true, and likely, that a lot of people are doing this, and I think as the NSA documents are further leaked and it’s discussed, we’ll see that this is part of a very large scheme that’s going on.”

Asked whether this week’s revelations will make Canadians pause to consider Canada’s position on cyber-security, both foreign and domestic, Professor Kundur was optimistic. “I think people will start to realize that they have to take responsibility for cyber-securing their own personal information and assets, because this is a global issue that came out. But we as Canadians can start to realize how widespread this problem is, and the tools that are available out there,” she said. “So I think that people will start to see this as a focus area, and will start to demand services from various vendors, for example, their portable devices, that promote privacy, anonymity and security.”

Watch the entire panel interview on CBC’s The National.