Canada – National Cyber Threat Assessment 2020

Canadian individuals and organizations increasingly rely on the Internet for daily activities. In a COVID-19 context, this trend has accelerated to enable Canadians to work, shop, and socialize remotely in accordance with public health physical distancing guidelines. However, as devices, information, and activities move online, they are vulnerable to cyber threat actors.

Cyber threat actors pose a threat to the Canadian economy by exacting costs on individuals and organizations, notably through the theft of intellectual property and proprietary information. They threaten the privacy of Canadians through the theft of personal information, which facilitates additional criminal behaviour including identity theft and financial fraud. As physical infrastructure and processes continue to be connected to the Internet, cyber threat activity has followed, leading to increasing risk to the functioning of machinery and the safety of Canadians.