Experts Advocate Heightened Cybersecurity Measures as Ransomware Attacks Surge, Urging Companies to Act
Cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm, urging Canadian companies and organizations to intensify their cybersecurity measures as ransomware attacks and cyber incidents surge across the nation.
Recently, the Alberta Dental Service Corporation revealed it had fallen prey to a ransomware attack spanning May to July, compromising the personal information of nearly 1.5 million Albertans, including approximately 7,300 seniors whose banking details were compromised.
Additionally, Suncor is grappling with the aftermath of a significant cyber incident in late June, resulting in a data breach within Petro-Canada's points system. The exact nature of this incident remains uncertain.
Ritesh Kotak, a cybersecurity technology analyst, highlights the escalating frequency of ransomware attacks across Canada, affecting a wide array of industries, including healthcare, agriculture, and retail. These attacks have far-reaching and devastating consequences, locking users out of their systems and potentially exposing sensitive data on the dark web for sale.
Kotak emphasizes that modern interconnected devices make it increasingly convenient for hackers to breach accounts, and these attacks are becoming more sophisticated. Furthermore, organizations with sensitive data, such as medical records, are particularly attractive targets for hackers.
What Organizations and Affected Parties Can Do:
To bolster cybersecurity defenses, Kotak advises organizations to take a proactive stance by hiring cybersecurity experts and conducting regular third-party audits to identify vulnerabilities and prevent cyber incidents.
He further suggests implementing cybersecurity drills to ensure that employees are well-prepared to respond to potential cybersecurity emergencies.
Zabiuk acknowledges that cybersecurity measures can be costly but underscores that the expenses incurred due to cyberattacks and damage to an organization's reputation can be far more detrimental.
Additionally, Zabiuk highlights the importance of employee training to raise awareness about phishing scams and recommends vigilance for individuals whose information may have been compromised, including changing passwords, monitoring financial accounts, and exploring dark web scanning services.
Importantly, Kotak advises against paying ransoms, as there is no guarantee that the decryption key will be provided, and data may still be sold after payment.
Despite a reported decrease in officially recorded ransomware attacks from 2021 to 2022, John Zabiuk, chair of the cybersecurity program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), contends that ransomware attacks are underreported and continue to increase in sophistication, making detection more challenging.
Zabiuk encourages individuals and organizations to promptly report suspected cyber incidents to authorities to gain a better understanding of the scale of these attacks.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cybersecurity-measures-ransomware-attacks-1.6934486