OTTAWA – Despite high awareness of cyber threats and investments in cyber security, over one third of Canadian companies reported that they had unwittingly divulged information to phishing tactics, says new data from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).
Between November 2017 and January 2018, CIRA polled 1,985 Canadians who own at least one .CA domain registered to either a business or an institution (including non-profit organizations and government) on their cybersecurity concerns, challenges, and awareness. Their responses comprise the 2018 Canadian Internet Security Survey.
Key findings from the survey include:
– 77% of small business domain owners report being either concerned or very concerned about being the victim of an attack;
– In the last year, 19% of companies report being hit by ransomware and 22% of large organizations have been victimized by a DDoS attack; and
– 36% of individual domain holders report spending nothing on cybersecurity protection in 2017.
“The cybersecurity threat landscape in Canada is complex and rapidly evolving”, said CIRA VP of product development Dave Chiswell, in the survey’s news release. “Our data shows that cybersecurity is no longer just a corporate IT problem, it impacts a wide spectrum of Canadian internet users.”
In addition to managing the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians, CIRA also develops technologies and services—such as D-Zone DNS Firewall—that help support its goal of building a better online Canada.
