According to StatsCan, in 2021, almost one-fifth (18%) of Canadian businesses were impacted by cybersecurity incidents. Aon named cyberattacks and data breaches as the biggest risk to Canadian businesses in their 2019 Global Risk Management report. It’s a risk that can affect any business, regardless of its industry or size. It’s also a risk that can cause significant harm, including damage to a company’s reputation and business interruption. We’ll review what cyberattacks and data breaches are and what the cyber risks for businesses in Canada are, as well as some tips on how to prevent and mitigate cyberattacks and how to recover if your business becomes a victim.
What Are Cyberattacks and Data Breaches?
A cyberattack is defined as any act aiming to destroy, damage, steal, change, restrict access, or gain unauthorized access to a computer network, system, software, device, or other digital technology or communication. A data breach is when information is accessed, stolen, or used by someone who is unauthorized. This can be done through a cyberattack or through physical means, such as stealing an unprotected laptop or physical records.
Cyber Risks for Businesses in Canada
There are countless ways through which someone can carry out a cybercrime, including:
- Password hacking
- Overwhelming a network’s resources
- Ransomware
- Phishing (usually through email)
- Malware
- Attacking connections via servers or Wi-Fi networks
- Stealing laptops or smartphones
- Rendering a website insecure using malicious scripts
- Accessing data or breaching a network through malicious downloadable apps
The Netwrix blog does a fantastic job of going into detail about the most common types of cyberattacks.
These cyberattacks and data breaches can result in theft of intellectual property, data, personal information, financial information, as well as disrupted business operations, destroyed networks, and a damaged reputation.
What Makes Canadian Businesses Vulnerable to Cyber Risks?
Canadian businesses can be vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches for many different reasons. This can include:
- Poor cybersecurity education.
- Lack of cybersecurity in processes.
- Cybersecurity processes are not enforced or properly implemented.
- Employees are using their own devices for work (these devices are often less protected, and dishonest employees can easily cause harm).
- Hackers and those with malicious intent are constantly developing new techniques.
- Proper cybersecurity can be complicated, time-consuming, and/or expensive.
- Companies are not performing cyber risk audits.
- Increasing prevalence of ransomware attacks meant to cause business disruption.
Readmore:
Canadian Industries Most at Risk for Cyberattacks
Previously, financial institutions were thought to carry the highest risk of cyberattacks. According to Deloitte, however, the nature of cyberattacks has changed over the last few years from financial theft and monetary threats to business disruption by ransomware. This also means that all Canadian businesses can be targeted. However, certain industries are at a higher risk than others. Banking, government, healthcare, insurance, and technology organizations have the highest cyber risk according to Aon. Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, hospitality, and non-aviation transportation are also industries in which businesses are being targeted more often.
What Can Canadian Businesses Do to Mitigate Cyber Risk?
The good news is that Canadian businesses are not helpless when it comes to cyber risk. The first step is cyber risk assessment. This is where you identify and evaluate your company’s cyber risks. You can do this yourself, although hiring an external assessor would benefit most businesses.
Once your risks have been identified, it’s time to start mitigating them. This includes preventing them from happening, minimizing their impact, and establishing how your company will recover if they happen. These should be added to your current business processes and documented. In general, this will likely include:
- Increasing password protection and strengthening passwords
- Improving network security
- Ensuring anti-virus and anti-malware software is installed and updated
- Restricting employee personal device usage (or ensuring these devices are protected to the same standard as company-owned devices)
- Utilizing identity management and authentication
- Incident monitoring and response (in-house or outsourced)
- Training on cyber risks
- Backing up data
- Performing annual cyber risk assessments
- Protecting your business with cyber insurance
Cyber Insurance for Canadian Businesses
Cyber insurance (also known as cyber liability insurance or cybersecurity insurance) helps you recover if your business is a victim of a cyberattack or data breach. Coverage may include:
- Containment assessment and measures
- Repair/restoration
- Reputation management
- Regulatory fines
- Legal expenses
The exact details of your coverage will depend on the policy and the coverage options you choose.
The cost of cyber liability insurance for Canadian businesses will depend on a few factors:
- Industry and experience
- Insurance and claims history
- Business size
- Cybersecurity measures in place
- Employee training on cybersecurity
- The type and amount of client data stored and handled by the business
We offer free, no-obligation cyber insurance quotes online – Get a quote today and see how easy it is to protect your business.