Government of Canada Senior Official for Cyber Security
Sami Khoury serves as the Government of Canada Senior Official for Cyber Security, providing cyber security expert advice and guidance to deputy ministers and senior officials across the Government of Canada. This role, with Sami’s extensive experience and knowledge, is critical to safeguarding Canada’s digital infrastructure and advancing our national security interests.
Previous to this, Sami was the Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) from 2021 to 2024. The Cyber Centre is the primary source of expert advice, guidance, services, and support on cyber security for government entities, critical infrastructure owners and operators, the private sector, and the Canadian public. Sami embarked on his career at the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) in 1992, initially as a research engineer specializing in the impact of emerging multimedia communications technologies. Over the years, he has held various operational and leadership roles. More recently, he served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Enterprise Technologies and Solutions. In this capacity, he was CSE’s Chief Information Officer, led CSE’s comprehensive Research program and the 24/7 Operations Centre.
Sami holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a Master of Applied Science from Concordia University in Montreal. In 2016, he completed a certificate program in Public Sector Leadership at the University of Ottawa.
Sami's contributions have been recognized through various accolades, including the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and the APEX Award of Excellence for Innovation.