Opinion: Ransomware attacks were already a growing threat to Canadian businesses, but the war in Ukraine has given new urgency to getting one step ahead of cybercriminals, David Olive writes.
Canada went on high alert for ransomware attacks on Feb. 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
More than two-thirds were unable to thwart the attempt and suffered the attack. About 44 per cent of those victims paid the ransom demanded by the cybercriminals who had encrypted their data and effectively frozen their computer systems. The additional costs include delays or cancellations of plans to boost the efficiency of IT systems, and loss of employee productivity.
That stolen data is used in business espionage and intellectual property theft; by other ransomware groups who use it to attack the victim again; and is shared with intelligence agencies of governments hostile to the West.By that point, hundreds of North American organizations large and small had already been attacked.