As cannabis sales in Alberta top the country, a Calgary professor says online sales could pose new challenges for countering fraudulent IDs and securing consumer data.

Currently, only Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis is permitted to sell cannabis online in Alberta.

But as the private sector plans to enter the market, verifying a customer’s identity online becomes a lot more difficult, said Thomas Keenan, a professor focused on data and cyber security in the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

“People expect they can go on Amazon.ca and buy an Instant Pot, and people have the same expectation of other services,” said Keenan in an August interview with Postmedia. “So people’s expectation is that marijuana will be the same as the Instant Pot, and the challenge is to make sure there are regulations and that you have good proof of age.”

– Read the entire article at Edmonton Journal.