eSecurity Portfolio : Overview, Analysis of Value Added, and Way Ahead

Abstract : The Centre for Security Sciences eSecurity Community of Practice was created 5 years ago to give increased visibility and focus to a growing threat to public safety and security. With the establishment of an associated eSecurity portfolio, the cyber security projects were grouped facilitating management and fostering program coherence. This report traces the origins of the eSecurity portfolio and provides an overview of past and planned investment. It provides a consolidated listing of reports generated and a discussion of plans and priorities for the Way Ahead. It breaks ground by providing a comprehensive self-evaluation, an attempt to analyze the value added. Forty projects were examined using a five point assessment framework developed and applied recently to evaluate Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Research and Technology Initiative projects. The results of the analysis suggest that the majority of eSecurity projects have indeed added value. They also indicate that the eSecurity program focus is shifting from knowledge generation to technology transition and support to operations, reflecting priorities of the Canadian Safety and Security Program.