Cybercrime in Canada - Statistics & Facts

In recent years, Canada has implemented a number of strategies, both in the public and private sectors, that would help best deal with or prevent cybercrime. Despite the efforts, the incidents of crime in cyberspace continue to increase. This tendency is seen not only in Canada but in other markets worldwide. With more public services becoming available online and most employees switching to a home office, countries are required to be well-prepared for cyber incidents. While companies and public institutions try their best to adapt to the new reality, cybercriminals constantly develop new strategies targeting cyber vulnerabilities.

Types of cybercrime in Canada

Different types of phishing – vishing, smishing, and pharming, are the most common types of cyber-attacks worldwide. In Canada, online fraud was the most common among all police-reported types of cybercrime. Online communications involving harassment and online threats were also frequently reported to the Canadian police. Between 2014 and 2021, the total number of police-reported cybercrime in Canada increased by over 3.5 times, reaching roughly 70 thousand cases in 2021.

Impact on Canadian businesses

Along with government institutions, businesses worldwide often become targets of cyberattacks. Canada is not an exception, as nearly 60 percent of Canadian organizations were hit by ransomware attacks as of the beginning of 2022, compared with the global average of 66 percent. These attacks caused a loss of over 650 thousand data records in the third quarter of 2022, a decrease of ten times from the previous year. Canada ranks third after the United States and Middle East countries by data breach cost. Data breaches cost Canadian organizations over 5.6 million U.S. dollars.

Online privacy protection

Customer data protection is critical for organizations worldwide. Having witnessed an increase in cybercrime over the past few years, companies in Canada put more effort into data protection. A survey of Canadian business representatives found that for nearly 70 percent of them, customer data protection was a significant corporate objective. When asked about the primary purpose of collecting personal information about the customers, approximately eight in ten companies named providing service while creating personalized service was the case for 22 percent of them. Online users in Canada are also conscious about protecting their data, as around 70 percent of them stated providing financial information only on secure websites.

Prevention over response

Companies worldwide focus more on preventing cyberattacks rather than responding to them. A quarter of companies surveyed worldwide planned an increase of six to ten percent in their cyber budget. In Canada, this was the case for 20 percent of companies. Toward creating a more secure work environment, Canadian businesses plan to implement various strategies, such as adopting a cloud-first technology and integrating controls and processes across disciplines. Overall, businesses worldwide found taking cybersecurity-related activities very beneficial for their companies and a 2022 study found that most such activities positively impacted businesses.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Ani Petrosyan, Jan 13, 2023

Key insights

Annual number of reported cybercrimes in Canada
70,288
Number of breached data records in Canada in Q1 2023
167,245
Share of Canadian companies that experienced a data breach
4%
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