IBM sets up cyber-security hub at Ottawa University
- October 25, 2023
- Steve Rogerson

IBM has made the University of Ottawa the home of a cyber-security training hub for governments and businesses.
The academia and industry partnership will offer immersive cyber-security response training through realistic, simulated cyber-attack and cyber threat simulations.
This is IBM’s first cyber range partnership on a Canadian university campus and offers realistic cyber response training exercises to help businesses and government organisations across the country prepare for and strengthen defences against real-world cyber threats, including how to plan, respond, manage, contain and remediate cyber attacks.
The training will also be integrated into undergraduate and graduate courses, while new micro-programmes and micro-credentials will be offered to private and public sector professionals, including industry certifications. Bringing together some of the university’s top experts from numerous fields – engineering, law, social sciences and business – the range will allow for interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
Canadian companies are paying nearly $7m on average in data breach costs, the third highest in the world. Incident response training such as that to be delivered through the range is one of the most effective ways to reduce breach costs. Gobally, organisations saved $1.49m on average in breach costs when they had a trained incident-response team and regularly tested plans.
“Globally, cyber attacks are on the rise,” said Jacques Frémont, vice chancellor of the University of Ottawa. “The new University of Ottawa-IBM cyber range will help the university enrich its curriculum and train cyber-security experts with the skills and knowledge to debunk serious security breaches. Our partnership with IBM Canada will also help fund innovative research in cyber safety, which will help keep governments, organisations and Canadians one step ahead of cyber threats.”
The range is the result of a multi-year partnership announced in 2021 with the goal of developing a more resilient cyber landscape for Canada. IBM pledged more than $21m in-kind contributions to the university over five years to support the development and operation of the cyber range, while the university committed to invest nearly $7m over the same period.
“The range will deliver an extraordinary level of training and experience for Canadian business and government leaders as they face increasingly sophisticated security threats posed by cyber criminals,” said Dave McCann, president of IBM Canada. “This partnership between IBM and the University of Ottawa is a momentous step forward in empowering organisations with the essential skills they need to defend and respond effectively to cyber attacks. In a digital landscape as vast as Canada, the range has the potential to be a game-changer, offering businesses across the country the experience, knowledge and expertise they need to protect and safeguard their operations.”
This is the third IBM cyber range in the world, and IBM Canada’s first university-based range. IBM’s two other ranges are in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Bangalore, India.
Located within the cyber hub at the university’s stem complex, the facility is designed to help build a strong security culture by guiding everyone through a real-world cyber incident. The range provides a protected environment for organisations and governments to participate in scalable and customisable cyber response training exercises that can be tailored to specific security requirements or objectives. By stress testing response plans, participants can uncover potential gaps, and learn best practices based on real-world case studies.
For more information about IBM Canada, visit www.ibm.com/ca-en, and for the University of Ottawa go to www.uottawa.ca.