A new survey by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) says that nearly 70 per cent of Canadian organizations facing a ransomware attack last year paid the demands to avoid downtime, reputational damage and other costs. The interesting thing is that when they asked cyber security professionals if they supported legislation to make ransomware payments illegal, 64% said yes.
In addition, 36% of organizations say that the number of cyber attacks has increased during the pandemic, up from 29 per cent saying so this time last year. Considering the increase in attacks with staff working from home, these organizations have increased their cyber security measures. 95% of these organization say they will continue to keep at least some of these new security measures in place permanently.
Other interesting statistics brought to light by the CIRA survey include:
- 47% of cyber security professionals are more worried about their IT security footprint and policies in light of the pandemic this year.
- 56% said that cybersecurity requirements have become more common in contracts with third party vendors.
- 44% conduct phishing awareness simulations
- 59% have cyber security insurance coverage
The survey suggests that the pandemic has made cyber security even more challenging than it was previously, but that Canadian businesses are taking these challenges seriously. They are working hard to face these challenges while still maintaining their core business. Some, like CIRA’s general manager for cyber security and DNS services, Mark Gaudet, believe, “It feels like the pandemic forced 10 years of cyber security adoption to happen in about 10 weeks.” Canadian businesses have had to pivot quickly to protect themselves from the increase in security threats.
The report is timely, as October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. Check out Quick Intelligence and QuickProtect this month, and every month, for cyber security news and information. Don’t forget to see QuickProtect’s services page to learn how we can help your business address some of the issues brought up in the CIRA survey.
