Late last year, The Canadian Center for Cyber Security published an in-depth threat bulletin declaring it had knowledge of 235 ransomware incidents against Canadian victims from in 2021, with more than half of these victims being critical infrastructure providers.
The report also explains that most ransomware events remain unreported to the Center, and—based on past findings—once targeted, ransomware victims are often attacked multiple times.
The report adds interesting color to a survey of over 1,400 senior IT decision-makers and business executives in the U.S., U.K., and Canada last quarter. Today we are publishing the Canadian-centric results of the findings to help provide additional context on the threat landscape in Canada, and to help Canadian industry better understand the business and operational challenges they may face in 2022.
Key themes and findings from the survey include:
Canadian Companies Continue to See Breaches as Reputational Issues
• 39% of enterprises admit to experiencing a financial loss over $50,000 due to a security breach in the past year
• 1 in 4 (23%) Canadian-based respondents claim their organization has knowingly concealed a cyber attack to preserve the reputation of its business
• 28% of executives would be willing to pay a six-figure ransom to threat actors to resume business operations
- 46% claim they would never pay a ransom
• Nearly half (45%) of those surveyed say their business does not have comprehensive cyber insurance in place
• For over a third (38%) of business decision makers, ransomware is the cyber attack type that worries them most.
Canadian Firms Have Little Confidence in Ability to Secure Hybrid Work Environments
• 48% of Canadian businesses plan to work in a hybrid environment (alternating between office and home) in early 2022
• Two-thirds (66%) of business leaders in Canada believe their company is more vulnerable to cyber attacks because their staff now works more remotely
The Private Sector Remains Skeptical About the Canadian Government’s Ability to Mitigate Cyber Threats
• Respondents lack faith in the government’s ability to protect them from cyber threats, as 62% of organizations believe spending on new security tools and services is the most effective way of stopping attacks.
• 32% believe better relationships between the public and private sectors could help stem the tide of cyber attacks in the future, while only 22% believe diplomacy is effective
• China (44%) and Russia (37%) are seen by Canadian decision makers as the source of the most dangerous threats targeting their businesses
Arctic Wolf Stands on Guard (and Howls!) for Thee
Canadian firms that seek to embrace security operations in 2022 can have their security solutions data ingested by the Arctic Wolf® Platform hosted within Canada, and be assured that they are supported by an expert team of Canadians.
Over 500 members of the Arctic Wolf team are based in Canada, with offices in Waterloo and Toronto, as well as a remote team from coast to coast. With such a significant portion of the Arctic Wolf team based in Canada, Canadian organizations can trust with full confidence that the Arctic Wolf Platform and our suite of security operations solutions are built for the unique demands of the Canadian market.
Additional Resources
• Join the conversation with Arctic Wolf on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube
• Visit arcticwolf.com to learn more about our security operations solutions
• If you’re ready to get started, request a demo or get a quote today
