According to a report called ‘Cyber Threat Bulletin: The ransomware threat in 2021’ by Canada’s Center for Cybersecurity, Canadian infrastructure has been regularly targeted in ransomware attacks. More than half of the victims were critical infrastructure providers from 235 ransomware incidents between 1st January to 16th November 2021.
The attacks have been centered around the energy, manufacturing, and health sector. The hackers hold computer information hostage until their payments are made. Last May, CNA Financial had to pay $40 million to restore its networks, and this was the most significant ransom payment in history.
The reports said that between 1st January and 30th June 2020, small and medium-sized companies accounted for two-thirds of the Canadian companies that were victimized by hijackers leaking sensitive data publicly as blackmail. It also stated that since March 2020, nearly 25% of small businesses in Canada had experienced some form of malware attacks.
The Cyber Center, a unit of Canada’s Communication Security Establishment (CSE), has said in the report that the ransomware operators are becoming increasingly aggressive in their attacks, including those on critical infrastructure. They also noted that actors from Russia, Iran, and China posed a significant threat to the cyberinfrastructure.
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