Kathy Macdonald

Kathy Macdonald

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Calgary, Alberta

Online Investigator - Canadian Online Safety, Fraud Prevention & Cyber Security Expert

Kathy Macdonald is a retired police officer with the Calgary Police Service, with almost three decades of investigative and crime prevention experience. Kathy Macdonald has extensive experience developing and delivering cyber awareness and crime prevention programs for public and private sector organizations.

KATHY MACDONALD BIOGRAPHY

Kathy Macdonald is a retired police officer turned global cybercrime prevention advocate. Her keynote presentations share firsthand experiences that unveil the complexities of cybercrime, and her passion and expertise in cyber security make her a powerhouse in the field. Kathy enlightens audiences with important information about the risk of social engineering, online fraud, sexual exploitation and coercion, and emerging security threats involving the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Born and raised in Alberta, Kathy is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. She has been honoured with the Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, a national acclaim recognizing her commitment to community service and global advocacy for cyber security. Kathy has also been named a Top 20 Women in Cyber Security by IT World Canada.

As a police officer, online investigator and media spokesperson, Kathy has seen firsthand the devastating and long-term damage cybercrime produces. As a professional speaker, Kathy takes her audience on an impactful journey into the heart of cybercrime reflecting deep industry knowledge and the experience of a seasoned police officer. Her compelling stories offer audiences a glimpse of how cybercrime can affect people personally and professionally. She helps them better understand how to safeguard their personally identifiable information, maintain their privacy, and secure their online activities. Kathy’s customizable presentations energize audiences, of all ages, take actionable steps towards being vigilant guardians of their digital well-being.

Kathy holds a Masters of Security Risk Management with Merit (MSc.), and is a Certified Protection Professional (CPP). Her top selling book titled, Cybercrime: Awareness, Prevention, and Response, is a comprehensive resource talking about how cybercrime affects individuals, businesses, governments, institutions, and organizations.

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Podcasts

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Kathy Macdonald Topic Presentations

the new age of digital espionage - bulletproofing a defence from cybercriminals

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • As we venture deeper into the digital age, businesses face an escalating threat from cybercriminals, hackers, and malicious actors probing for weaknesses in their networks every day. Kathy Macdonald, a recognized authority on cybersecurity, addresses this urgent issue in her compelling presentation: “Fortifying Defences Against Cybercriminals – The New Age of Digital Espionage.”

    In this high-stakes world of cybercrime, organizations have the most to lose. The rapid evolution of technology has led to a commensurate rise in the opportunities for cyber attacks, necessitating immediate and robust cybersecurity safeguards to protect business operations.

    Kathy focuses on the essential human shield in this battle – the employees. They form the crucial first line of defence against relentless ransomware, spear-phishing, and business email compromise attacks. Kathy highlights the role of human behaviour within corporate culture, scrutinizing the tactics, techniques, and procedures used in social engineering attacks, which account for the majority of data breaches.

    By delving into the pitfalls of bad habits, less secure practices, and risky behavioural patterns, Kathy underscores the need to promote a proactive security mindset among employees. She emphasizes the necessity of prompt and effective recognition and response to cyber threats, offering proven, adaptive, and performance-driven security strategies to arm employees against these relentless attacks.

    One of the key themes of Kathy’s presentation is instilling a culture of security awareness within organizations. She highlights the importance of stringent security measures in reducing privacy vulnerabilities and potential liabilities associated with the use, collection, and disposal of business data and personally identifiable information.

    In this captivating keynote, Kathy offers invaluable insights to prepare organizations for the increasing digital demands and persistent cyber-attacks. She arms audiences with the knowledge and strategies to fortify their defences, enhance their cybersecurity measures, and ensure their business is better equipped to confront the new age of digital espionage.

ai deep fakes & ai fraud prevention: unmasking deception in the cyber world

active human cyber defence - building a culture of security awareness

the bullet doesn't fit the gun - the high toll of cybercrime: deconstructing online threats and fortifying your cyber defence

digital footprint: reputation, trust, and verification in the era of the digital wild west

scams, cons, and social engineering: navigating emotional traps and safeguarding your interactions

navigating the digital horizon: blockchain, smart cities and the evolution of cybersecurity

the high toll of human trafficking: unveiling the dark reality and your role in prevention

cyber hygiene - online health in risky times: safeguarding personal information and mental well-being in the digital age

protecting online behaviour for youth: empowering the digital generation through safe cyber practices

Testimonials

I had an excellent time at the session, it was engaging and informative! A handful of users who were unable to attend are already reaching out for recordings and resources so I will ensure I share this with them ASAP. Thank you again for providing us with the amazing session yesterday, I look forward to opportunities in the future that we can work together again.

Brittany MacKinnon

IT Security
Associated Engineering LTD

I forgot to ask you to stay on the call at the very end so that we could profusely thank you for the AMAZING presentation! I am completely floored as are our colleagues on our Cybersecurity Training and Awareness Team! When you get the chance to share the two documents that you referenced in your presentation, we would be very happy to receive them. This will continue to help strike the balance that we are trying to achieve in our Cybersecurity Department to show that we care about our colleagues’ personal online safety as much as their professional safety. Thank you again, Kathy and I hope to work with you again in the future!

Steve Dow

Cybersecurity Officer
Siemens Energy Canada Limited

With almost 400 attendees responding to your speaker rating, you received an absolutely amazing 9.4/10. The topic on cybersecurity has been huge for our members and the way you presented it really made an impact on this audience. The feedback in the chat was extremely positive and it’s been such a pleasure working with you on making this conference a success so thank you so much from myself and the CPA Ontario Team.

Pooja Loyola She/Her/They/Them

Conferences & Events Specialist
CHARTERED Accountants of Ontario

Calgary Academy has had the pleasure of having Kathy present to our students and parents on more than one occasion and her expertise and knowledge in such an important area as cyber security and social media safety is paramount. I would highly recommend Kathy to present to any organization regarding this topic as issues regarding the internet are only becoming more problematic and will continue to be so. We plan to have Kathy back as technology continues to advance and we can take a proactive approach to security rather than a responsive one which is often too late.

Sarah Hoag

Director of Stakeholder Engagement
Calgary Academy

Kathy Macdonald brings a level of expertise and a sense of reality in her presentation. She delivers pertinent cybersecurity information that is focused on what’s important to her audience. She delivers with a passion for helping others identify and protect themselves against cyber threats, both at work and at home. Her insight into what’s happening in the digital world is very beneficial to employees and leaders.

Richard C. Smith

Chief Information Officer
Canadian Blood Services

Kathy MacDonalds presentation “Bullet Proofing a Defense From Cyber Criminals the New Espionage” at our annual Risk Management Symposium. Kathy’s presentation was extraordinary! Cyber Risk is a highly technical and ever-evolving subject that is a big concern for our members, as municipalities are always targets for hackers. Kathy is so knowledgeable on the subject she was able to deliver very detailed data in an understandable and engaging way to our audience of insurance and risk managers. From the back of the room, I watched as the audience wrote pages of notes and took pictures of the slides with their phones and tablets. I received so many positive comments from our audience...

Mark Sosnowski

CIP Risk Advisor
Rural Municipalities of Alberta

Articles & Media

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Books

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Interested in booking Kathy Macdonald for an event?

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How much does it cost to hire Kathy Macdonald for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Kathy Macdonald is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Kathy Macdonald speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Kathy Macdonald to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Kathy Macdonald for your event. As Kathy Macdonald's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Kathy Macdonald and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Kathy Macdonald Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Kathy Macdonald for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Kathy Macdonald, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Kathy Macdonald we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Kathy Macdonald about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Kathy Macdonald, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.