Verified market cyber context · Canada
Reported cyber security impact and preparedness context for Canadian businesses
Market context — not industry-specific evidence
These figures are drawn from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime for 2023. Total business spending on recovery from cyber security incidents reached CAD 1.2 billion in 2023, approximately double the approximately CAD 600 million reported in 2021. The figures below describe business-wide reported cyber context and recovery-spending context among surveyed Canadian enterprises with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration; they are not industry-specific findings for the sector shown on this page.
Businesses impacted by cyber security incidents
- Canadian businesses
- 16%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
Reported being impacted by cyber security incidents in 2023.
Methods affecting impacted businesses
- Scams and fraud
- 50%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
- Identity theft
- 31%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
- Ransomware
- 13%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
These percentages refer to businesses already impacted by cyber security incidents; they are not percentages of all Canadian businesses.
Selected cyber preparedness signals
- Risk identification activities
- 59%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
- Written policies
- 26%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
- Cyber risk insurance
- 22%
- Unit
- percent
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
Canada business-wide survey context; these measures are not an industry-specific readiness assessment.
Cyber incident recovery spending by business size — CAD million (2023)
- Large businesses
- 500
- Unit
- CAD million
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
- Medium businesses
- 300
- Unit
- CAD million
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
- Small businesses
- 300
- Unit
- CAD million
- Period
- 2023
- Scope
- Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023
Scope: Canada business-wide survey context among enterprises with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration. Incident indicators capture incidents businesses considered impactful and may not represent total cyber-attack prevalence.
Methodology: Data were collected from January to March 2024 for activities occurring in 2023. The target population included enterprises with Canadian operations and 10 or more employees across most economic sectors, excluding public administration. Incident indicators capture incidents businesses considered impactful and may not represent the total number of cyber attacks in Canada.
Accessible data table
| Metric | Value | Source | Scope | Reporting period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian businesses | 16% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Scams and fraud | 50% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Identity theft | 31% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Ransomware | 13% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Risk identification activities | 59% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Written policies | 26% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Cyber risk insurance | 22% percent | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Large businesses | 500 CAD million | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Medium businesses | 300 CAD million | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Small businesses | 300 CAD million | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |
| Total spending on recovery from cyber security incidents across all Canadian businesses in 2023, in CAD billions. | 1.2 CAD billion | Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, 2023 | Canadian businesses with 10 or more employees, excluding public administration | 2023 |