POLYTECHNIQUE MONTRÉAL
Google makes a major donation of $1.3 million to support the Multidisciplinary Institute for Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience (IMC2)

From left to right: Benoît Dupont, Professor of Criminology, Université de Montréal, and Deputy Director - Public Policy at the Multidisciplinary Institute for Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience (IMC2); Marc Gervais, Executive Director, IMC2; Isabelle Péan, President and CEO, Fondation et Alumni de Polytechnique Montréal; François Bertrand, Vice President, Research and Innovation, Polytechnique Montréal; Robert Shield, Director, Software Development, Google Chrome; Alina Maria Dulipovici, Associate Professor, Department of Information Technology, HEC Montréal, and Deputy Director - Education, IMC2; Nora Boulahia Cuppens, Full Professor, Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal and Deputy Director - Research, IMC2; Frédéric Cuppens, Full Professor, Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal and Director, IMC2; Gwenaelle Thibaut, Director, Business Development, French-Speaking Europe, Montréal International.

 

Cybersecurity has become a pressing concern, with sophisticated threats emerging from national sources and cybercriminals of all sizes. In response to this critical need, project initiator Polytechnique Montréal, in collaboration with Université de Montréal and HEC Montréal, launched IMC2 on May 18, 2023. This Polytechnique-administered institute is one of the flagship projects of the major campaign Ça se pense à Poly.

IMC2 is structured around four key pillars: research, training, public policy and innovation. According to Executive Director Marc Gervais: "IMC2 now gives society the ability to launch collaborative academic initiatives within a multidisciplinary structure that draws on complementary areas of expertise, and to go beyond research and teaching." Working closely with partners in the field, such as Google.org, IMC2 members aim to solve complex cybersecurity issues while developing the ability to anticipate future challenges.

The $1.3-million grant from Google.org will enable IMC2 researchers to pursue initiatives that are vital to achieving the vision of a cyber-resilient society. The project focuses on four clearly defined areas:

1. Raising awareness of cybersecurity in society
   The grant will help set up a service of trained volunteer cybercitizens to assist the public in the event of a cybersecurity incident. Alongside this initiative, a software solution will be developed to assess citizens' security posture and exposure to the Internet.
    
2. Setting up a secure platform for data sharing
   By focusing on the research community, IMC2 will be able to use the Google.org grant to develop a secure inter-university data-sharing platform to advance collaborative cybersecurity research.
    
3. Tackling innovative cybersecurity projects
   Part of the grant will support an exploratory study on the alignment between cybersecurity and sustainable development, ensuring that cyber-resilience initiatives contribute to an environmentally friendly future.
    
4. Driving economic growth and job opportunities in Québec and Canada
   Lastly, Google.org's grant will strengthen IMC2's commitment to the cybersecurity entrepreneurial program run by Propolys, Polytechnique Montréal's entrepreneurship support office and a true incubator for technology entrepreneurs, offering business start-up support and helping to develop entrepreneurial skills.
    

Isabelle Péan, President and CEO of the Fondation et Alumni de Polytechnique Montréal, underscored the importance of this grant, stating: "This visionary act by Google.org is of particular importance because it is the first substantial grant of the year which is part of our major philanthropic campaign. This exceptional contribution gives us momentum and allows us to reaffirm the commitment of the Polytechnique community to the future and progress, and its ambition to contribute to society. The vision and generosity of Google.org, which supports the objectives of IMC2, more broadly enables Polytechnique Montréal to promote crucial initiatives for tomorrow's society."

François Bertrand, Vice President, Research and Innovation, at Polytechnique Montréal, joined Ms. Péan in emphasizing the essential role of philanthropy in the scientific community: "Google is one of those great companies relentlessly supporting research and creativity. Thanks to them, we can offer even more resources to our professors and researchers, allowing them to explore new avenues conducive to the emergence of innovations."

This commitment from Google.org will enable IMC2 to deliver concrete solutions to raise society's awareness of cybersecurity, set up a secure platform for data sharing and drive economic growth and job opportunities. In collaboration with its partners, the Institute aims to play a strong role in stimulating entrepreneurial initiatives as well as promoting and expanding the reach of innovative entrepreneurial projects in cybersecurity.

Fondation et Alumni de Polytechnique Montréal would like to express its sincere gratitude to Google.org for its vision and generosity, supporting the objectives of IMC2 and enabling Polytechnique Montréal to promote strategic initiatives under its major campaign, particularly in entrepreneurship and research.

To learn more about IMC2 initiatives, visit i-mc2.ca.

Learn more

Website of the Multidisciplinary Institute for Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience (IMC2)
Website of Google Canada
Website of Google.org

Thank you to the Fondation et Alumni de Polytechnique Montréal for providing this news story.