A recent report by the federal Canadian government revealed that cyber threats against Canadian businesses are very likely to continue if they do not implement a good security system. Indeed, it was found out that many of these attacks happened because basics elements of cybersecurity weren’t followed as it should have.
There is then a need to put pressure on technical and policy changes.  With the internet being at a crossroads, some countries such as China and Russia are in the way of trying to change the way it is governed, in order to use it as a tool for censorship, surveillance, and state control. Thus, some telecom companies are pressing the International Telecommunications Union to adopt the so-called ‘New Internet Protocol’, which should create a top-down design for the future network. This protocol would then allow every state to regulate Internet traffic.
This kind of control would help develop a more powerful cybersecurity strategy; however, it would be at risk to enable more censorship, surveillance, and state control.
Yet, the cyberattacks are getting stronger by using more sophisticated tools and are receiving lots of support. Hence, cybercriminals are getting better at exploiting unpatched systems.
One way of fighting this is for organizations to adopt better cybersecurity tactics, including some basic security elements. However, most companies don’t have them due to security products and services being too expensive or complex to adopt.  Thus, the Canadian Cyber Security Centre offered a guide for SMBs with basic things such as turning on automatic software patching. It also highlighted some industry partners, including the Canadian Bankers Association, which could help follow that SMB guidance.
Moreover, companies should ease the way customers can keep their systems up to date and applying security patches. Besides, much bigger organizations should share their threat information with other businesses in order to warn them. Indeed, many cyberattacks could be avoided if everyone is aware of the threats and implement the best practices possible early on.
Therefore, investing in cybersecurity, especially now, would allow Canadian businesses to benefit from new technologies all the while ensuring their safety, privacy, and economic prosperity.
