Blog
Research proves the connectivity barriers faced by Indigenous communities are very real, and very limiting
The ConnectIN project was a two-year pilot project evaluating the internet connectivity in First Nations communities in BC, Alberta and Manitoba. Led by three First Nations’ regional technology organizations, and facilitated by Cybera, the goal of this project was to better assess gaps in infrastructure and services. ConnectIN wrapped up in February 2020. In this post, we […]
COVID-19 update: Network and cloud resources available to Albertans
Cybera and its partners in Canada’s National Research and Education Network (NREN) are working to ensure that our infrastructure continues to support the needs of Canadian research and education communities as the COVID-19 situation rapidly evolves. Our network teams are on alert and sharing information as they monitor network operations across the country. We are […]
Alberta’s public shared procurement program adds communications hardware and services
Alberta’s ShareIT public procurement program has now added a variety of telephony equipment, licensing, and services to its catalogue of offerings. The “unified communications” (UC) services will make it easier for education institutions to administer secure phone and videoconferencing tools across their entire organizations. This is expected to further ease costs and reduce workloads for […]
Cybera uses data science to support green tech solutions
Cybera’s data science team is partnering with CMC Research Institutes on a project to mitigate the impacts of man-made climate change. CMC Research Institutes is an Alberta-based, not-for-profit research organization that investigates technologies that can reduce carbon emissions in large-scale industries, including the energy sector. Over the course of four weeks, Cybera’s data scientists will […]
Alberta cloud resource supports local charity that diverts edible food from the landfill
The Leftovers Foundation is one of Western Canada’s largest food rescue charities. Based in Calgary and Edmonton, the organization works with local restaurants, bakeries and grocers to redirect edible food that is headed to the landfill towards those who need it most. This rescued food helps service agencies such as the Calgary Drop-In Centre, Calgary […]
Students in southern Alberta are learning to “hack” open data to gain in-demand technology skills
This morning, over 100 Grades 7-12 students are learning in-demand digital literacy skills – including data analysis and coding – at the Southwest Alberta Hackathon, hosted by Cybera, the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), and Palliser Regional Schools. Working out of the Picture Butte High School gym, students will use open data from […]
Bow Valley College Leverages Virtual Reality to Better Prepare Students
As the use of new technology grows in the field of medicine, Bow Valley College – a member of Cybera – has launched a new Virtual Reality (VR) Lab which will be used by the Practical Nursing program. In partnership with ICOM Productions, a Calgary-based tech company, the lab simulates real-world patient assessment. In the […]
Cybera security analyst works with NREN to identify, fix a vulnerability on FortiSIEM
This past November, we shared an interview with Cybera’s security analyst, Andrew Klaus, in which he talked about the new Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) initiative being carried out through Canada’s 13 provincial, territorial and federal partners in the National Research and Education Network (NREN). As Andrew noted, the biggest benefit of a collaborative […]
An overview of the CRTC’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review
On January 30, the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review panel released its final report on Canada’s Communications Future: Time to Act. The panel was appointed in June 2018 to review the country’s communication legislative framework, including the Telecommunications Act, Radiocommunication Act, and the Broadcasting Act. The panel’s 97 recommendations cover a wide range of subjects, […]
Alberta’s Rapid Access Cloud is supporting a global open-source networking solution
How a small Software Defined Networking solution out of New Zealand became a tool used by universities and research labs around the world, with a little help from the Rapid Access Cloud. In 2013, Cybera blogged about Software Defined Networking (SDN) being “the latest ‘big thing’ in the field of networking”. Simply put, SDN allows […]
Alberta post-secondaries come together to fight cybersecurity threats
To combat rising cybersecurity threats to education and research organizations, Alberta’s 26 post-secondary institutions (PSIs) are teaming up to collectively share information and strategies to enhance the security and privacy of their digital assets. Facilitated by Cybera, this first-of-its-kind collaboration will not only save time and money for individual organizations looking to tackle these issues, […]
University hackathon shows students the wide possibilities of cloud
In 2013, Cybera launched the Rapid Access Cloud (RAC) in order to fill a gap in Alberta research and education: access to free but powerful compute infrastructure to run tests and support learning. Over the last seven years, as usage of our cloud took off, we have been amazed by the breadth of projects we have supported: […]
In the spirit of giving, Cybera’s Internet Buying Group offers its 13th major price decrease
Friday the 13th marks an appropriate day for Cybera to announce the 13th major price decrease for the Internet Buying Group since its launch in 2012. As of January 1, 2020, the price of bandwidth for Group members will go down from $1.50 per Mbps to $1.35 per Mbps, a 10% drop. The Internet Buying […]
Understanding our planet through aurora: An NREN case study by Cybera
People have been intrigued by the majesty of the Aurora Borealis for thousands of years. Far from just a beautiful atmospheric phenomenon, auroras help us model and predict space weather, understand the earth’s magnetosphere, and experiment with plasma physics. Through decades of aurora research, we have uncovered a treasure trove of scientific information about the […]
Cybera’s response to the Competition Bureau’s review of anti-competitive conduct in the digital economy
Last week, Cybera submitted a response to the Competition Bureau’s call for comments on anti-competitive conduct in the digital economy. In its discussion document, the Competition Bureau called attention to the increasing market concentration of certain core digital markets, including digital platforms such as Facebook and Google. The Bureau noted the role that big data […]