Published 15:39 IST, January 21st 2025
The Rise of Cyberattacks in Canada and What is Being Done to Prevent Them
The advent of AI is one just example. Initially designed to free up time for humans and solve complex problems, it is now being used by some to manipulate media

New Delhi, India: The invention of new technology is always heralded as being a harbinger of hope but as history shows, for every positive aspect of innovation and progress, there is an associated negative.
In 1932 Ernest Rutherford’s students John Cockroft and Ernest Walton split a lithium atom using protons. The splitting of the atom was ultimately supposed to herald a new dawn of cheaper and more powerful energy. In 1945 the first ever nuclear bomb was dropped.
Of course, not every innovative creation has this stark a negative associated to it, but there are still drawbacks to every new creation. What the majority of us see as a harbinger of hope, others see as an opportunity to wreak havoc.
The advent of AI is one just example. Initially designed to free up time for humans and solve complex problems, it is now being used by some to manipulate media and spread disinformation. The internet which came before has also been similarly misused by malignant forces with criminals, organised gangs and even nation states using it to further their nefarious ends.
In this article we take a look at the rise of cyberattacks in Canada and the measures that are being taken to prevent them.
Cyberattacks in Canada: An Overview
The government and various independent bodies have all been saying the same thing for some time, Canada is experiencing more cyberattacks than ever before. Whilst there is some evidence that increased knowledge and understanding has led to an uptick in reports, the underlying data still shows a worrying trend of increasing attacks.
It’s not just individual users that are being targeted – 65% of senior executives in Canadian companies have been the victim of at least one attack in the last 18 months – but also companies and businesses you wouldn’t expect.
In 2023 alone the estimated cost of cyberattacks in the country was a reported $3.82 billion, so prevention is a top priority. Before we broach that, let’s take a deeper dive into the specifics of cyberattacks.
(Cyberattacks are on the rise in Canada.)
Who is Being Targeted?
Traditionally when we think of cyberattacks our minds jump to overseas criminals looking to defraud vulnerable people out of their savings. Whilst that remains a real issue, modern cyberattacks are far more complex and have much larger ambitions.
The three main aims that cyberattacks look to achieve are:
- Directly financial – the stealing of money etc.
- Indirectly financial – the harvesting of sensitive personal data that can either be used for the purposes of blackmail, or be sold on for profit
- Chaos – to undermine organisations or government agencies
Directly financial aims are achieved by targeting companies that hold their customers payment details and then using those details to extract cash from helpless patrons. The main target of these type of attacks are online businesses, but many physical venues have also been victims. In 2023, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment closed their casino sites across Ontario citing a ‘system-wide malfunction’, businesses which are renowned to be taking payments regularly with high revenues are an obvious target for cyber criminals, which is why the best casinos apps in Canada as rated by experts will invest huge sums of money to keep both themselves and their players safe, so it’s recommended players sign-up with trusted providers.
Hackers typically target multimillion dollar companies, mining their sensitive personal data and then blackmailing the companies so as not to release the data. A recent example is the ALPHV ransomware gang that stole 190GB of vital information from Trans-Northern and demanded money not to make the data public. Finally, chaos, the aim which is hardest to accurately pinpoint but one that we know is at play. Chaos is sown by groups, some of which are state backed, by cyberattacks designed to make a government or organisation look incompetent.
(More on how cyberattacks are used to undermine stability and sow chaos.)
What is Being Done to Stop Cyberattacks
Unfortunately to dig down into the specific measures of exactly what is being done would alienate around 99% of the readership. Needless to say, the best minds in the business are working at maximum capacity to reinforce virtual defenses against cyberattacks.
Boundary firewalls and internet gateways form the clearest and most readily available defenses and are being utilised by almost every corporate organisation in the country. The most important work however is being done in the form of education.
The strongest defenses in the world can be compromised by one careless individual leaving a door ajar or unlocked. Virtually a door or jar is left unlocked when individuals use weak passwords which can be cracked by hackers who can then use that authorisation to steal company data.
As such the government has invested heavily in measures to make online security more accessible. It has created the Cyber security Event Management Plan and provided a number of resources that business can avail of to teach and educate their staff.
We will have to see however, whether it will have a significant effect on decreasing the number of cyberattacks.
Updated 15:39 IST, January 21st 2025