Topic Cyber
How businesses can prepare for escalating cyber risks
December 19, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoAs the year draws to a close, increasing ransomware threats, supply chain interruption, and artificial intelligence (AI) exposures will all challenge clients in the New Year, according to a newsletter by cyber carrier Coalition. And so businesses must enhance…
Cyberattack could impact Manitoba school division’s report cards, exams
December 13, 2024 by Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press (from the Canadian Press)WINNIPEG – Teachers, students and support staff in the Pembina Trails School Division remain without Wi-Fi more than a week after a cyberattack resulted in a network-wide outage. Among many disruptions in recent days, phone lines temporarily went down, laptops…
How ‘pandemic bounce back’ creates new risks
November 29, 2024 by Philip PoradoWhile COVID-19 is waning, its impact on both market demand and global supply chains continues to alter risk profiles for large-scale projects across Canada. The impact is particularly apparent in Canada’s commercial and residential construction sectors. “We’re still seeing extended…
LifeLabs data breach report released after firm loses four-year bid to keep it quiet
November 26, 2024 by Chuck Chiang - The Canadian PressA long-withheld investigation into a 2019 hacking at LifeLabs Inc. that compromised millions of Canadians’ health data has finally been made public after an Ontario court dismissed the company’s appeal to prevent its release. A statement from the privacy commissioners…
As AI proliferates, so does insurers’ risk exposure
November 22, 2024 by David GambrillAI use and testing continues to be a murky area and is leading to more risk exposures for insurers and their commercial clients, Dentons Canada LLP counsel warned in a media roundtable Wednesday. Within the insurance industry, artificial intelligence testing…
Do cyber underwriters need a new approach?
November 15, 2024 by Jason ContantLarge language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are not properly helping underwriters, leading one cyber expert to suggest underwriters should look at small language models (SLMs) instead. The insurance industry possesses massive amounts of data subsets, just by the nature…
Why companies say ‘No’ to cybercriminals’ ransom demands
November 13, 2024 by David GambrillWhile Canadian companies aren’t yet going militant when refusing ransomware payments to cybercriminals, recent stats show ransomware payments are starting to fall off. “At the start of 2019, 85% of victims of ransomware attacks paid a ransom following a [cyberattack],”…
Why cyberattacks against your clients doubled over four years
November 11, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoDisruptive and destructive global cyberattacks this year will tally 211 by the end of 2024, more than double the 103 in 2020, predicts a new report by QBE Canada. That’s an increase of nearly 105% in just four years. And…
Cyber insurance rates ease, but can insurers keep up with AI risks and protection gaps?
November 8, 2024 by Alyssa DiSabatinoCyber rates are moderating, even softening, from their historic highs seen in previous years. Yet, a growing protection gap, lack of diversification and increased sophistication in artificial intelligence (AI) attacks could halt the market yet, an AM Best expert shared…
Which AI-generated risk tops them all?
November 6, 2024 by Jason ContantArtificial intelligence-generated misinformation and disinformation is now a Top 5 short-term and long-term risk, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024. “That was the first time that actually was one of the Top 5 risks, and that…
State adversaries getting ‘bolder’ in cyberspace, Canadian threat forecast warns
October 31, 2024 by Jim Bronskill – The Canadian PressOTTAWA – A new federal threat forecast warns that foreign adversaries are becoming bolder and more aggressive with their tactics in cyberspace. The 2025-26 forecast from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security says state-sponsored cyberthreat actors are almost certainly combining…
Privacy commissioner investigates CRA data breaches
October 30, 2024 by Jim Bronskill - The Canadian PressOTTAWA – The federal privacy watchdog has opened an investigation into cyberattacks on the Canada Revenue Agency that led to more than 30,000 privacy breaches dating back to 2020. In a news release, the office of privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne…