The Canadian Centre for Cyber Defence Launched to Strengthen Canada's Digital Security Posture
AJAX, ON, April 24, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, 369 Global officially launched the Canadian Centre for Cyber Defence (C3D), a not-for-profit cybersecurity innovation located in Ajax, Ontario.
C3D is designed to protect Canada's critical infrastructure, develop the next generation of cyber defenders, and project Canadian cybersecurity expertise onto the world stage -- at a moment when the threats facing Canadian institutions have never been more severe or sophisticated.
Canada is an active target. State-sponsored actors, ransomware syndicates, and AI-enabled threat campaigns have penetrated government networks, disrupted hospitals, and compromised municipal services across the country, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Canada faces a deficit of tens of thousands of trained cybersecurity professionals -- a gap that leaves organizations perpetually under-defended, forced to rely on reactive measures rather than the proactive, intelligence-led posture that modern threats demand.
C3D's mandate is built on four interconnected capabilities: advanced digital forensics, actionable threat intelligence reporting, immersive corporate training and tabletop exercises, and broad-based cyber awareness programming for the general public. The Centre's services are designed to reinforce one another -- intelligence informs training design, training outcomes sharpen forensic readiness, and forensic findings feed back into sharper intelligence -- creating a compounding cycle of institutional resilience.
C3D's training methodology is built for the realities of AI-enabled threats, emphasizing immersive, scenario-based simulations, gamified exercises, and tabletop incidents that place executives and security teams inside realistic crises before one strikes. Unlike traditional cybersecurity vendors, C3D operates as a national resource -- a collaborative platform for government, industry, academia, and civil society.
C3D is extending invitations to government agencies, Crown corporations, financial institutions, health authorities, energy operators, and technology companies to join its growing network of strategic partners. Partnership pathways include joint threat intelligence sharing, workforce development sponsorship, executive tabletop exercises, and advisory engagement.
"Canada's institutions, businesses, and citizens deserve world-class cyber protection built here, tailored to our context, and accountable to our national interest. C3D is not a commercial exercise -- it is nation-building for the digital age. The threat environment has fundamentally changed. Our security posture must change with it."
-- Muraly Srinarayanathas, Chairman, 369 Global
"369 Global was built on the belief that Canada's greatest competitive advantage is its people. C3D is the expression of that belief at the highest possible stakes -- marshalling Canadian talent, Canadian ingenuity, and Canadian institutional trust in service of our collective digital security."
-- Kumaran Nadesan, Group Chief Executive Officer, 369 Global
"Artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the attack surface -- it accelerates adversary operations, automates spear-phishing at scale, and synthesizes disinformation faster than any human response team can counter it. At C3D, we are reimagining what threat intelligence and digital forensics mean in this AI-enabled environment."
-- Ali Abbas Hirji, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Cyber Defence
About the Canadian Centre for Cyber Defence
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Defence is a not-for-profit cybersecurity innovation hub that strengthens Canada's cyber resilience through advanced digital forensics, actionable threat intelligence, immersive corporate training, and public cyber awareness programming, and works to project Canadian cybersecurity expertise internationally. For more information, visit thec3d.org.
About 369 Global
369 Global is a Canada-headquartered group of companies spanning education, media, and talent mobility, and is the founding sponsor of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Defence. For more information, visit 369global.com.
SOURCE 369 Global Inc
Media Contacts: Ali Abbas Hirji | [email protected] | (647) 250-7399
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