CIRA Cybersecurity Cocktail Party

October 2, 2025 | Robert Campbell

What Happened at the CIRA Panel Discussion on Cybersecurity held at Ricarda’s after SecTor? 

CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-based, not-for-profit organization which manages our nation’s .CA registry, and hosts an important speaker series called Canadians Connected in which tech industry speakers share their knowledge, concerns and ideas to help improve Canada’s internet and keep it accessible, safe and uncensored. The web is a resource we all share and while it’s true we’d like to crack down on cyber-bullying, cybertheft, and other malicious acts, we must also keep the internet free and open to all forms of expression. Simply wishing and hoping the web was better doesn’t protect our interests now or in the future, and so we must remain vigilant. In this spirit of togetherness, we gathered to sip delicious cocktails, eat expensive hors d’oeuvres, and plot an unsinkable strategy.  

Canadians Connected: Navigating Cybersecurity in a Time of Uncertainty happened on Wednesday, October 1st from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Ricarda’s restaurant at 134 Peter Street in Toronto.  The event coincided with Blackhat’s SecTor a premier cybersecurity conference filled with internet security execs from all over the planet. CIRA’s talk was advertised as an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, networking, a pop-up shopping experience with local .CAs, an art installation and more! 

CIRA chose Ricarda’s for their Cybersecurity Awareness, Members Only, Post SecTor Cocktail Party

Canadians Connected: Navigating Cybersecurity in a Time of Uncertainty was an exclusive and upscale networking event designed for Canada’s cybersecurity leaders and .CA domain stakeholders. 

SecTor is a cybersecurity conference held annually in Toronto, Canada, bringing together global researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers to share research and techniques on underground threats and corporate defenses. It provides a platform for professionals learning about emerging threats, and for discovering new remedies, advanced tools and solutions in the cybersecurity field. As part of the Black Hat portfolio, SecTor now includes features like Briefings, Summits, and their infamous Black Hat Arsenal program.

CIRA’s costumed mascot, Morty the Moose popped up in a lot of my pictures. The furry performer, his chest emblazoned with the CIRA logo, brings their culture to life as he engages with the community.

Ricarda’s ‘petité sweet café’ is one of Toronto’s top event venues and caterers, offering a variety of unique culinary experiences. All night long, French inspired hors d’oeuvres were prepared by Executive Chef Julien Laffargue, and dispensed at random to the hungry masses. The delicious snacks included asparagus wrapped in beef strips, tangy shrimp and fresh salmon on crackers to name just a few, and these high protein delights were quickly snapped up by hungry attendees.

Ricarda’s offers visitors a modern setting with a casual vibe. In the photo below, a Montreal-trained  food and beverage manager watches a rookie bartender make the evening’s signature drink. The delicious beverage had a silly name but tasted like a blueberry cheesecake in a glass. The young man made it perfectly in his first attempt. I tended bar in my twenties and honestly, I’m sure I couldn’t make the drink as well as this gentleman did, on his first try, after just learning the recipe minutes earlier from the man seen standing behind him, who was watching him, and probably grading his effort.

In the middle of the party, attendees were expected to stop talking and drinking (they closed the bar) and listen to a panel of cybersecurity experts discuss how they’re navigating the new cyber landscape in Canada.  This is, in my opinion, where events like this fail to meet the moment. The talkers really don’t want to listen to the speakers, and the listeners don’t want to be disturbed by the talkers and so these competing interests lower the value of the occasion for everyone involved.

The panel discussion was called Friends and Foes, navigating a new cyber landscape. The panel was moderated by Takara Small, wearing a black face mask, who questioned cybersecurity experts Jon Ferguson, Deyves Fonseca, and David Shipley. These top ranked industry professionals gave us some idea of the threat landscape and the future of the war against state sponsored hackers.

While fewer businesses have reported incidents in 2025, the breaches which have been reported are more disruptive. Recovering from attacks now costs our economy billions as the infiltrations are better targeted, more destructive and more costly to repair. On average, recovery costs in Canada are among the world’s highest as our market data is more valuable and expensive than other regions. 

David Shipley on the Friends & Foes of Canadian Cybersecurity 

David Shipley is a strong speaker and received much applause for his comments and harsh criticism of the Trump administration and recent initiatives which have weakened North American defenses. David is the CEO and a co-founder of Beauceron Security, a Canadian cybersecurity firm that develops software to improve employee cybersecurity awareness and behavior. A recognized expert in his field, Mr. Shipley has a background in developing incident response and awareness practices at the University of New Brunswick, where he was also a student leader and holds multiple degrees. He is also active in the Fredericton community, serving as President of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce for 2024-2025

“We have before us, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a stronger Canada and a safer and more trusted digital environment and economy. The right players are having the right conversations, from not-for-profits like CIRA, to public universities to government and private sector firms like Beauceron. It’s on all of us to turn that talk into concrete benefits for future Canadian generations.” 

David Shipley replied when I asked him for a quote. He went on to give me more insights, 

“The stakes are clear – if we get this right, we’ll build a stronger liberal democracy and an economy to benefit us all. If we fail, we risk sliding into what we’ve seen south of the border, a two-sided have-and-have-not economy, and a dysfunctional democracy marred with increasing political violence.”

David was popular after the talk when he was joined by other professionals from the nearby SecTor security conference. The event became an elegant setting for some interesting debate as these thought-leaders took sides on issues related to crypto currency’s unsustainable energy requirements, true web privacy, and the pros and cons of hosting data in the United States. Then the talk turned to cyber war. The experts believe that even with all their warnings and exhortations, most of our modern workforce, and especially our lowest paid office workers, still don’t realize they are soldiers on the frontlines of an international conflict.

CIRA offers Cybersecurity Awareness Training to ‘Train your team to be your human firewall.’

Cybersecurity technology is only as good as the staff using the networks, granting access to strangers when its necessary to complete business transactions. The most important part of a layered security stack are the humans. They are the first line of every company’s cyber defence plan. Trials show how implementing rigorous cybersecurity training, testing staff members in groups and individually, and running real life simulations with entire teams can create a cybersecurity culture inside an organization and stop attacks before they trigger more sophisticated defences.

CIRA Net Good Grants

CIRA,Canadian Internet Registration Authority started their Net Good Grants in 2014. Each year, the organization invests over a million dollars to support communities, projects and policies which they hope will improve Canada’s internet. The money comes from the fees we all pay each year and in this instance, it’s used to empower organizations across the country to do the critical work which connects underserved communities. They prioritize funding projects which they know will benefit northern, rural or Indigenous communities and primary grades and high school students regardless of where they reside in Canada.

Below is ShopFashionBabeOk, a Shopify store owner and .ca domain holder, and proud CIRA member, with Alvin Broadbent from Damascus IT Solutions. 

Local businesses exhibiting in the pop-shops section of the event included, Chandler Honey, Dog Gone Gear, foonie, Genuine Tea, Green Buffalo Farms, LazyBonesCozy, Neighbourhood Coffee, Nuska, Picasso Bites, Quest XO, Stop and Smell the Candles, Summit Strong, and Undertonez Inc!

John Gauthier, photographer and event storyteller was in the house. 

FashionBabeOK won a big raffle prize, an armload of various different scented body creams.

Outside the venue, new friends talked shop for another half hour.

The gathering offered some meaningful relationship-building and engagement. Once again this year, CIRA did a good job making their event stand out as a must-attend VIP afterparty for cybersecurity leaders, blending enjoyment with high-level industry interaction in a comfortable, refined environment.