Media releases

• Brock data expert shares concerns after Equifax cyberattack

  Friday, September 08, 2017 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: 8 September 2017 – R00158

  Brock University Assistant Professor Karen Louise Smith, whose research focuses on digital literacy, data and privacy can speak from personal experience when it comes to concerns over the recent Equifax Inc. cyberattack. She believes she might be one of the victims.

  On Thursday, Equifax officials announced that between May and July, hackers accessed personal information including names, birth dates, home addresses, identification numbers and some credit card numbers for as many as 143 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and Britain.

  Information on how many Canadians are affected has not been made available, and it’s unclear how Canadians can determine if their information was compromised in the breach.

  Among the Canadians who may have been impacted is Smith, an assistant professor in Brock’s Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film.

  Smith recently had to provide an Equifax credit report to obtain electricity at home.

  Calling the data breach “highly alarming,” she points out that, in many cases, Canadians are required to use credit reporting services.

  “We should be able to trust them with our personal information,” says Smith.

  A class-action lawsuit has already been filed against Equifax in the US, but immediate concerns for consumers are more pressing.

  Smith believes her information is at risk and will register to enrol in the TrustedID Premier protection offered by Equifax. She will also be monitoring her financial accounts closely for signs of fraud.

  But she remains highly concerned that Canadian-specific information is not available on the Equifax website at this time.

  “I will be watching to see if Equifax provides details on what identifiers — social insurance numbers, names, dates of birth — were breached, and if they offer any advice to impacted Canadians. I hope the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can also assist impacted Canadians to understand what steps we can take to mitigate the breach,” says Smith.

  If social insurance numbers are affected, Canadians need to know as soon as possible.

  “Once your SIN is used fraudulently, it’s challenging to deal with,” Smith says. “If it is revealed that SINs were breached, it could put many Canadians and customers of Equifax in a difficult situation.”

  Smith’s work on digital literacy, data and privacy has been published in Surveillance & Society and Computer Supported Cooperative Work.

  Smith is available for interviews.
  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock researchers awarded $3.8 million NSERC funding, up $1.4 million from last year

  Friday, September 08, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 8 September 2017 – R00157

  The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has awarded more than two dozen Brock University faculty and student researchers $3.8 million in this year’s funding round, Niagara Centre Member of Parliament Vance Badawey announced at Brock Friday, Sept. 8.

  Provided through NSERC’s Discovery and student awards programs, funding is up $1.4 million from last year and supports an array of research looking at topics such as risky behaviours in teens, loss of memory control while aging and the reproductive behaviour of carpenter bees.

  “This announcement, once again, affirms our government’s commitment to scientific research and the understanding of its importance in our society,” Badawey said. “Niagara is, year by year, continuing to establish itself as a centre of ground-breaking research and by providing much needed resources, we are enabling our brightest minds to meet challenges both today and into the future.”

  The announcement was made within Brock’s Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex, where much of the University’s research takes place.

  “In my 28 years at Brock, this is the best round that I can remember for funding success through the NSERC Discovery programs,” said Interim Vice-President, Research, Joffre Mercier. “I am very proud of our faculty members, and I congratulate them for the outstanding work.”

  The success rate for renewing NSERC grants is 80 per cent.

  “The Government of Canada is committed to investing in fundamental research and engineering that will improve and enrich our country’s knowledge economy,” said the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, who was in B.C. Friday to announce total funding being granted to researchers across the country. “We believe in encouraging scientists’ cutting-edge ideas that will lead Canada to greater social and economic growth. I am particularly proud of the support offered to postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows, who, thanks to today’s investment, will be exposed to advanced training experiences that will prepare them for the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow.”

  Examples of Brock research that received Discovery Grants funding include:

  • Determining how much of a role intuition plays when teens choose to pursue risky behaviours
  • Identifying what causes us to lose control over our memory as we age
  • Understanding how muscles work by better interpreting electrical signals coming from electrodes placed on the skin

  With her Discovery Grant funding, Assistant Professor of Psychology Elizabeth Shulman will be able to purchase specialized equipment to study risky behaviour in adolescence.

  “This research is important for understanding the most effective ways to keep adolescents safe — when they are a little bit more vulnerable to risk-taking — without going overboard or keeping them from having experiences that will allow them to learn,” Shulman said.

  Also included in the $3.8 million are NSERC’s Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Postgraduate Scholarship-Doctoral awards.

  Examples of NSERC-funded student research include:

  • Examining how sexual selection influences the reproductive behaviour of male carpenter bees
  • Understanding the effect of high-intensity exercise training on bone and bone-regulating proteins in Olympic-level female rowers
  • Fine-tuning molecular properties for use in advanced computing technologies

  Honoured to be a Vanier scholar, PhD student Caitlyn Gallant said the award enables her to research how people with mild brain injuries and those with autism spectrum disorders can better understand and interpret other people’s thoughts and emotions.

  “It is a wonderful recognition of the work I have put into academics, research and community service and inspires me to invest greater effort in my research and community,” she said.

  For a full list of Brock’s NSERC-funded research, see the story in The Brock News.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases