New Think Tank Report Warns of “Invisible Infrastructure” Risks in Canada’s Digital Core

Toronto, ON — 

July 30, 2025 — As digital transformation races ahead across sectors, a new report from the Toronto-based Institute for Strategic Systems Oversight (ISSO) is raising a red flag: Canada’s public and private institutions are “building blind” when it comes to their technological dependencies.

In a 34-page analysis released Tuesday, ISSO outlines how invisible infrastructure risks — from unauthorized cloud apps and AI-enabled tools to untracked third-party connectors — are quietly expanding Canada’s national attack surface.

“We’re seeing a digital lattice form — thousands of microconnections stitched together by automation, convenience, and speed,” said Dr. Selene Mahajan, Executive Director of ISSO. “But few organizations have the visibility or governance structure to understand what they’ve actually built.”

Shadow IT, Quiet AI, and the New Risk Fabric

The ISSO report, titled “Beyond the Stack: Mapping Canada’s Hidden Digital Risk,” details how institutions increasingly rely on decentralized tools and automated integrations. These include unauthorized SaaS platforms, AI-driven optimization plugins, and middleware services embedded deep within supply chains — many of which never undergo formal risk review.

“We’ve entered an era of plug-first, verify-later,” said Dr. Mahajan. “That’s a governance failure — not just a tech one.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• 41% of organizations surveyed couldn’t identify all software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms connected to their networks.
• Over 60% had deployed GenAI tools without baseline compliance policies or audit trails.
• In one anonymized case study, an enterprise’s finance API was silently re-routed through a deprecated U.S.-based data broker during a vendor update.

A Call for National Mapping

ISSO is now calling for a federal-led digital dependency mapping initiative, urging coordination between Treasury Board, Public Safety Canada, and private-sector actors. The goal: create a dynamic “digital cartography” of shared infrastructure, to spot risk concentration points before they collapse.

“This isn’t just about cybersecurity anymore,” said Dr. Mahajan. “It’s about digital continuity — the ability for services to function even when the tools underneath them shift or disappear.”

The report also calls for:

• National guidelines for AI plug-in governance

• Regulatory incentives for private-sector risk transparency

• An “Interconnect Index” to track platform overdependence in public infrastructure

Industry Response: Cautious but Curious

Tech leaders responded with interest but caution. Some private-sector CIOs expressed skepticism over federal involvement.

“Mapping is only helpful if it leads to action,” said one bank executive off-record. “We’ve known the risks for years. What we lack is political will — and procurement flexibility.”

As Canada’s digital infrastructure grows ever more automated and interwoven, ISSO’s report is a timely reminder: complexity without clarity is not innovation — it’s exposure.

Breaking down systems, one layer at a time. — Mira Evans

ODTN News’ Ayaan Chowdhury contributed to this report.