Canada, it seems is losing the cyber security war. At least, that’s the country’s perception.
According to a new study, only 37 per cent of Canadian organizations are actually confident they are a step ahead of cyber criminals – a four percent decrease over last year’s results.
Insufficient staff to counter attacks and the lack of in-house expertise were the top reasons for the sentiment, according to the Cyber Security Readiness of Canadian Organizations study, released by Top 100 solution provider Scalar Decisions.
Meanwhile, 80 per cent and 71 per cent of respondents noted increasing severity and sophistication of cyber attacks respectively. Seventy per cent noted increased frequency.
In terms of damage, a third of survey participants had loss of intellectual property within the last 24 months, and the average total cost resulting from an attack in the last year was $7 million.
Overall, participants saw a 17 per cent increase in attacks from the previous year. Yet, security spend only saw 1 per cent increase to 11 per cent of the whole IT budget.
“IT leaders are feeling less equipped to handle the changing landscape of cyber crime,” Ryan Wilson, chief technology officer of security at Scalar Decisions said in a statement. “The year-over-year increase in cyber attacks coupled with an increase in their severity and complexity highlights the need for specialized, trained IT professionals with the tools and proficiency to provide effective security to Canada’s companies.”
