In 2021, a ransomware attack shut down the Colonial Pipeline – which transports nearly half of the fuel on the U.S. In an industry such as banking, a few hours of their infrastructure being offline could be catastrophic for both them and the many businesses who rely on their financial services as customers. This is especially so in industries such as manufacturing or mining, where their entire field operations could be at risk of failure if their infrastructure is compromised.

One study concluded that the world’s cybersecurity work force needs to grow by as much as 65 per cent to meet industry needs, even as the available talent pool continues to shrink.Īny time cybersecurity is not able to receive the attention it requires – and support from the right processes, technology, and most importantly, people – risk is increased and the likelihood of a cybersecurity incident affecting a business rises drastically, especially when critical infrastructure that supports the businesses’ operations is compromised. While many were expecting the high levels of risk to lessen as the pandemic restrictions eased, the continuing labour shortage in our country has further exacerbated those issues, with the needed cybersecurity talent simply not available.

Much of the increase in these incidents can likely be attributed to the shift to remote work and the increased risks of using remote-access technologies. In fact, last year Canadian businesses spent $600-million on recovery efforts after cybersecurity incidents, a figure which doesn’t account for the reputational effect and subsequent loss of customers that a data breach can have on a business.

By not giving the required attention to cybersecurity, businesses open themselves up to a plethora of risks, including effects on their operations, which will drive losses of revenue and profits. If the digitization of businesses has taught us anything, it’s that cybersecurity is much more than simply a technology risk, it’s also a very serious business risk.Ī recent report from Statistics Canada showed that 18 per cent of Canadian businesses were affected by cybersecurity incidents last year, including 37 per cent of large businesses. Yogen Appalraju is a partner and the Canadian cybersecurity leader at EY Canada. There’s a crisis in cybersecurity right now, with a rise in attacks coupled with a shortage of talent.

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