Cyber Attribution - Beyond the Breach: Challenges, Techniques, and Policy Implications

22nd Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security & Trust, August 2025.

Panel - Cyber Attribution - Beyond the Breach: Challenges, Techniques, and Policy Implications
This panel's primary aim is to promote dialogue across technical, academic, and policy domains to enhance cyber defence, resilience, and accountability mechanisms. The panel members will discuss the evolving landscape of cyber attribution in response to increasingly complex and persistent cyber threats. Moving beyond the initial breach, the panellists will address the technical, operational, and legal challenges of identifying threat profiles and actors, attributing attacks with confidence, and navigating geopolitical sensitivities. The discussion will illuminate the critical needs for cyber attribution across various contexts, including national security and the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure, where the stakes are high and the consequences far-reaching. Another focus of the panel is the emerging methodologies, such as AI-assisted forensics and behavioural analytics, for policy development and deterring future threats.

• Moderator: Colin MacSween, Director General, National Cybersecurity, Public Safety Canada
• Kelly Anderson, Director, International Cyber and Critical Technology Policy, Global Affairs Canada
• Ahmed Al-Rawi, Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University
• Argyri Panezi, Canada Research Chair in Digital Information Law and Policy, University of New Brunswick
• Kostia Nikolaiev, Product Manager, Mastercard

Colin MacSween is the Director General, National Cyber Security within the National and Cybersecurity Branch at Public Safety Canada. He has previously worked with the Department of National Defence, the Canada Border Services Agency and, most recently, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. MacSween holds a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University.

Kelly Anderson currently serves as Director for International Cyber and Critical Technology Policy at Global Affairs Canada. She joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1997. At Headquarters, Anderson has worked in a variety of assignments including Deputy Director for NATO, OSCE and European Defence Cooperation; Deputy Director for Conventional, Chemical and Biological Weapons; and, as Deputy Director for Space Policy and Regulation. She has served overseas at the Canadian Embassies in Belgrade, Serbia and Washington, DC. She was Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from 2011-2014 and, most recently, served as Counsellor and Head of the Foreign Policy and Diplomacy section of the Canadian Embassy to Austria.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi is an Associate Professor of News, Social Media, and Public Communication at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. He is also the founder and director of the Disinformation Project, and his research interests are related to news, global communication, misinformation, and social media with emphasis on Canada and the Middle East.

Dr. Argyri Panezi is the Tier 2 Canadian Research Chair in Digital Information Law and Policy at the University of New Brunswick (UNB), an affiliated member of the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity. In her role as the director of UNB's Legal Innovation Laboratory she is also involved in policymaking in New Brunswick, working in collaboration with the judiciary, government, and civil society actors. Panezi's research explores the effects that disruptive technologies have on citizens, institutions, and the law.

Kostiantyn (Kostia) Nikolaiev is a seasoned Product Manager with over 15 years of cross-functional experience in technology and software development. Currently at Mastercard, he leads initiatives in identity verification and fraud detection. Nikolaiev has held leadership roles across diverse sectors including gaming, fintech, and B2B SaaS, and has a strong track record of building and scaling product teams, launching innovative solutions, and driving business growth. He holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and is a Certified Scrum Product Owner.
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Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security & Trust, https://pstnet.ca/pst2025/

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