VIEW: Rachel Clark on Building the Future of Cyber Defense
Rachel Clark founded SKADI Cyber Defense to take on a critical gap in cybersecurity: making threat detection faster, smarter, and truly scalable. Through the Catalyst’s Cyber Challenge program, SKADI has gained direct access to industry leaders, pressure-tested its technology in real-world settings, and accelerated its growth from early innovation to market-ready impact. Rachel’s journey highlights […]
Victoria Distrito: A cyber comeback
Victoria Distrito was a participant in the Catalyst’s Accelerated Cybersecurity Training Program (ACTP) and Advanced Cyber Education (ACE) program. Previously, she also served as a technical advisor at Catalyst, and now she is an energetic member of the Catalyst Ambassador team, paving the way and creating opportunities in cybersecurity. Victoria Distrito had a thriving career […]
“The Only Woman in the Room”: How An Nguyen Turned Isolation into a Thriving Cyber Community
An has been a marketing and communications professional for over 15 years. She has experience in managing high-profile campaigns under tight timelines that build and strengthen brands while delivering aggressive revenue targets. She is adaptable and highly accountable, with a strong ability to lead and motivate team members under high-pressure scenarios. An is a Security […]
Canada’s most vulnerable organizations have a cyber gap — meet the team closing it
Farida, Naim, Stephen, and Oleksii are a part of something new. The Catalyst Cyber Clinic, funded by Okta, was designed to strengthen Canada’s most vulnerable non-profit organizations by pairing emerging cyber talent with real-world need. These four cyber pioneers are Catalyst graduates, which puts them in an optimal position to help a resource-constrained population and […]
Andrea Yzeiri: Why startups can’t treat security as an afterthought
Andrea Yzeiri is the Chief Data and Analytics Officer and Lead AI Engineer at Picsume, and a graduate of Catalyst’s Cyber for Startups program. Cybersecurity across distance Andrea Yzeiri is in Vaughan, and her colleague, Candice Dennis, is sitting in on the conversation in Windsor. I sit bathing beneath the filtered light of a window […]
LISTEN: Experts warn Cyber threats to Canada could rise amid Iran tensions — Catalyst’s Charles Finlay weighs in
The Catalyst’s Founding Executive Director, Charles Finlay, joined CBC Radio on Thursday, March 5 for 10 interviews across the country including Vancouver, Quebec City, Regina, Whitehorse and more, to address the risk of cybersecurity attacks to critical infrastructure amid the war in Iran. Charles discusses the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity’s warning that Iran could deploy […]
Catalyst, Blackberry, and GAC partner with Malaysia to advance leadership opportunities for ASEAN women in cybersecurity
This Media Advisory was first published by Blackberry on February 26, 2026. CYBERJAYA, MALAYSIA – February 26, 2026: Last month, Malaysia made further strides in establishing the MCMC and BlackBerry Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE) as a regional hub for world-class cyber training with the completion of its Women in Cyber Leadership Program. The five-day course […]
Pro-Iran ‘hacktivists’ could target Canadian organizations, cybersecurity experts warn
This article first appeared on The Globe and Mail on March 03, 2026. Cybersecurity experts are advising Canadian organizations and operators of critical infrastructure to be on the lookout for attacks from Iranian-linked groups as U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Middle Eastern country continue. Pro-Iran “hacktivists” could target Canada because of the federal government’s support for […]
AI Automation in Business: A Risk Assessment Webinar
In case you missed our AI Automation in Business: A Risk Assessment Webinar, we pulled back the curtain on the real-world risks hidden within the AI agents your organization is likely already deploying. The Catalyst Fellows offered a practical deep dive into the technical vulnerabilities of a real AI automation system, moving past the theory […]
Parabellyx is preparing businesses for digital warfare
This article first appeared on BetaKit on February 25, 2026. The startup has joined the Cyber Challenge to scale its continuous security testing platform. Si vis pacem, para bellum is an old Latin adage that translates: if you want peace, prepare for war. For Richmond Hill, Ont.-based cybersecurity startup Parabellyx, the maxim sits at the core of […]