Cybersecurity Awareness Month: How cyber-safe are Canadians?

How much time do you spend online? From scrolling to watching or reading, most of us use the Internet in some way. In 2022, 95% of people 15 years and older in Canada used the Internet, up from 91% in 2018. With more Canadians using the Internet than ever before, learning about cybersecurity is important at any age.

This month is Cybersecurity Awareness Month (Cyber Month), an international campaign held each October to help the public learn more about the importance of cybersecurity. This year’s theme for Cyber Month is “Generation Cyber Safe: Because online security knows no age.”

In honour of Cyber Month, let’s scroll through some stats about cybersecurity in Canada and learn a little bit about how we can all do our best to stay safe on the Internet.

More Canadians are experiencing cybersecurity incidents

If you are using the Internet, you may be exposed to some common cybersecurity risks. In 2022,  70% of Canadians experienced a cybersecurity incident, up from 58% in 2020. The most common incidents reported were receiving unsolicited spam (60%) and receiving fraudulent content (40%).

Other incidents included being redirected to fraudulent websites asking for personal information (22%), having a virus or other malicious software installed without permission (11%), and experiencing fraudulent payment card use (9%).

In 2022, among those who experienced a cybersecurity incident, 6% reported a financial loss related to that incident.

The prevalence of cybervictimization and cyber hate crimes

Cybervictimization can take many forms, including threats; harassment; social exclusion; the sharing of personal information online without consent; or other behaviours intended to cause fear, harm, embarrassment, or exclusion.

In 2022, 8% of Canadians felt victimized by an incident online, such as bullying, discrimination or harassment (4%), or misuse of personal pictures, videos or other content (2%). Just over half (51%) of Canadians said that they had seen content online that may incite hate or violence.

Canadians aged 15 to 24 years had the highest proportion of those who felt victimized online, specifically for bullying, harassment, or discrimination (6%), and for misuse of personal pictures, videos or other content (3%).

In 2019, transgender and non-binary adolescents (47%) were more likely to experience cybervictimization than cisgender adolescents (25%). Among adolescents aged 15 to 17, those who were attracted to the same gender were more likely to experience cybervictimization than those who were exclusively attracted to a different gender (32% versus 26%).

According to police-reported data collected from 2018 to 2022, over 8 in 10 cyber hate crimes (82%) were classified as violent (against a person rather than property). Harassing and threatening behaviours (such as uttering threats, criminal harassment and indecent or harassing communications) accounted for almost all (97%) of these violent incidents. Among non-violent cyber hate crimes, public incitement of hatred accounted for just over half (52%) of incidents.

Managing cybersecurity risks

There are several measures you can take to better protect yourself against cyber threats. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that you can help keep yourself safe online.

Using strong, unique passwords and passphrases can make it more difficult for potential hackers to log into your accounts. Further, enabling multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection against potential hackers.

Phishing and social engineering scams may try to trick you with convincing emails, prompting you to click on potentially dangerous links. Avoiding suspicious emails and links can help stop hackers from accessing your personal information. In 2021, 73% of private sector enterprises in Canada used email security.

Finally, installing an anti-virus software on your devices, using a Virtual Private Network and securing your home Wi-Fi are also excellent ways to minimize potential cybersecurity threats. 

Being aware of the risks and preventative measures we can take to avoid them is important. Visit Get Cyber Safe to explore more cybersecurity resources.

Visit Statistics Canada’s Digital economy and society statistics portal to find more data, publications and interactive tools related to cybersecurity and cybercrime in one convenient location.