It is now a few weeks into October, and Cyber Security Awareness Month is in full swing. The internationally recognized campaign serves to raise awareness surrounding cyber security threats and practices that may mitigate these risks. In Canada, this year’s theme is “Step up your cyber fitness.”
Using data as of January 12, 2023, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security—founded on October 1, 2018 as part of the Communications Security Establishment—completed a baseline assessment of cyber security risks towards Canadians. The assessment report revealed that the number of organized cybercrimes in Canada is expected to increase from 2023 to 2024, with increasing global interconnectivity providing cybercriminals the chances they need to exploit victims.
Notably, ransomware is listed as particularly damaging due to its wide reach and ability to disrupt Canadian organizations’ most basic operations. The assessment report lists hospital care as an example, where financial disruptions can cause an array of issues, ranging from patients’ delayed recovery to potentially higher risks of death. With the advent of Covid-19, phishing scams using public health messages and…
