About Us

Global population demographics demonstrate a constant shift towards older age groups as the fertility rate declines and life expectancy rises. Though most older adults prefer to stay at home, this shift has nonetheless increased the pressure on existing aging care facilities having fixed capacity. Nevertheless, shortages in staff after the pandemic have made the situation worse. Therefore, there has been an urgency to develop an intelligent IoT-based environment inside one’s own house so that older adults can avail all the facilities of an aging care home while residing at their own house independently.

Though it is fascinating to see an older adult aging independently in their own home under the umbrella of smart technologies, flaws in technology can have different levels of impact on the resident’s life, e.g., it can even lead to death. Lesser information processing capabilities of older adults’ minds add more to the vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is critical to identify, assess, analyze and fix the vulnerable aspects of Smart Aging Care Systems (SACS). In this project, we intend to tackle four areas of concern:

1. Surveying the security aspects of existing SACS.
2. Analyzing the risk associated with the most critical assets of SACS.
3. Detecting the attacks on SACS and providing the necessary countermeasures.
4. Preparing a document for regulatory bodies detailing security evaluation criteria for SACS.

How will this project help Canadians?

According to a Canadian Government report, in 2014, over 6 million Canadians were aged 65 or older, representing 15.6 percent of Canada's population. By 2030- in less than two decades, seniors will number over 9.5 million and make up 23 percent of Canadians.

In 2011, 92 percent of older adults in Canada lived in a private home. Economic Action Plan 2013 included a commitment of more than $1.25 billion over five years to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) Affordable Housing Centre. The Centre has created more than 25,000 affordable housing units since 2006, including 43 percent of units for seniors.

Moreover, the tie between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007 reflects that the Government is committed to age-friendly communities across Canada so that older adults can gracefully age in place.

The post-pandemic period shows there is a growing demand for SACS more than ever before, but little effort has been made on assessing the security risks of this technology.

We are committed to developing a security framework through this project that will make SACS a risk-free and much safer zone for Canadian older adults who can age independently in place and age safely, thus contributing to the Canadian Government’s objective.