July 11th, 2019
Jean-Phillippe Décarie-Mathieu, head of cyber security with our Quebec Division, was recently interviewed by CTV News Montreal and the Canadian Press. He stressed the importance of having competent cyber security experts working in-house and acknowledged the difficulty involved in having a full-time specialist. Far too many small businesses lack the resources they require to protect themselves and their customers from cyber criminals. These businesses need to be better equipped with the people and tools necessary to combat ever-present threats.
Between February 12 and 22, 2018, Statistics Canada surveyed 1,485 Canadian executives in an effort to gather information on cyber security. A second study, released by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), also highlighted the importance of cyber security, especially in a technologically driven world in which businesses require a degree of online presence in order to grow and succeed. According to BDC, more than one in three business with an online presence experienced higher revenue growth. Without the ability to combat the threats associated with the digital world, businesses undoubtedly miss opportunities only available through an online presence.
The issue of the time is privacy and protection of data on the web, but the challenge of cyber security continues to plague Canadian businesses, especially small and medium sized businesses. According to the BDC survey, 32 percent of respondents reported that their ability to protect data was a leading challenge and impeded their online growth. In 2017, cyber-attacks affected more than one in five—more than 20 per cent—of Canadian businesses across the country, and $14 billion was spent on cybersecurity. Beyond the reputational risks associated with cyber-attacks and data leaks, the costs associated with combatting them through the installation of additional protection measures are steep.
The risk of a cyber-attack, whether it be the compromise of customer, financial or proprietary information, is inevitable. Cyber security specialists often talk about when, not if, a breach happens. With this in mind, all businesses that operate online have to continue to improve their cyber security practices and overall resilience to cyber threats. Addressing these challenges requires that the technology, people/experts, and processes are all in place and work in balance to provide adequate protections.
Our QC Division’s cyber security team offers a full range of services that meet most modern needs: Security Operations Centre-as-a-Service (SOCaaS), mobile forensics, mass surveillance, open source intelligence (OSINT) investigation, penetration testing, network- and host-based monitoring, Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), malware analysis, best practices training and IT security conferences are all part of our next-generation business line.