OTTAWA – With issues like data privacy and cybersecurity top of mind, 81% of Canadians are concerned about the security of their personal information held by a government department in the event of a cyberattack, says a new report by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).
Canada’s Internet Factbook 2018 is an annual report that offers data and trends on the state of Canada’s internet, as well as how Canadians use it and their perceptions of it. Data is based primarily on CIRA research, including an online survey conducted in March 2018.
The report also found that 77% of respondents say that they are concerned about cyberattacks against organizations that may have access to their personal information, and 60% of respondents say that they are aware of cyberattacks against organizations/companies. Equifax topped the list as the company most mentioned, and Bell was fourth, after Yahoo and Government.
“As more services become web-based, organizations have a growing responsibility to secure their systems from cyber threats and protect the personal information of Canadians”, said CIRA president and CEO Byron Holland, in the report’s news release. “This makes understanding Canada’s internet, how Canadians use it and how it can be improved, all the more important.”
Six-in-ten Canadians also expressed privacy or security concerns related connected-home devices, such as the Google Home or Amazon Echo, despite their growing popularity.
Also included in the report are statistics around the amount of time Canadians spend online, their online purchasing habits, social media preferences, experiences with online harassment and accessing online subscription services versus pirated content.
Other highlights from the report include:
– 86% of Canadians have a broadband Internet connection at home. Of those, nearly all (81%) say that they are satisfied with the amount of data included in their home internet package. Close to 40% indicate that they have unlimited data in their home internet package, but a quarter do not know how much data their package includes;
– A computer remains the most popular way Canadians access the internet, though 72% of Canadians use a mobile device to access the internet (up from 67% last year), and 52% say they have five or more internet-connected devices in their home;
– Over half (53%) of Canadians with a home internet connection are Netflix subscribers. Other paid online content that Canadians subscribe to includes Spotify (16%), Apple Music (12%), Amazon Prime Video (10%) and Crave TV (9%);
– While 86% of Canadians have made an online purchase in the last 12 months, 59% of shoppers prefer making retail purchases from a traditional, ‘bricks and mortar’ store, down from 66% in 2016.
