Nearly three-quarters of small and medium-sized Canadian businesses (72 percent) say they were attacked by cybercriminals in the past year—up 9 percent since 2023, according to a newly released survey.
The survey of 735 businesses conducted by KPMG found that 67 percent had paid a ransom to cybercriminals in the last three years, up from 60 percent a year ago.
Hartaj Nijjar, a partner with KPMG’s cyber risk services, said in an Oct. 31 release that the figures show a “rapid escalation” in the frequency and complexity of cyberattacks against Canadian businesses.
Nijjar said many companies are not taking a strategic approach to manage these risks, and consider cybersecurity to be a “tick-box in staff training.”…