The State of Cybersecurity in Canada: Navigating a Rising Tide of Threats

24-September | Krystle McGilp

Canada's digital landscape in mid2025 is defined by convergence: escalating threats, robust federal strategies, and the vital role of public–private cooperation. From major airline breaches to a sweeping national cybersecurity overhaul, both opportunities and vulnerabilities abound. In this comprehensive overview, we examine what’s shaping cyber resilience across Canadian industry, government, and critical sectors today.

1. A Surge in Cybercrime and Ransomware

It’s no secret—cybercriminals are stepping up their game. Canada's own National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025–2026 emphasized ransomware and cybercrime-as-a-service as persistent threats, particularly targeting critical infrastructure and essential services cyber.gc.ca+2cyber.gc.ca+2packetlabs.net+2. Indeed, ransomware is no longer a question of “if” but “when,” especially for sectors such as energy, healthcare, education, and retail secureworld.io.

In April 2025, Nova Scotia Power—the province’s largest utility—was hit by a breach that drew national attention. The attack didn’t disrupt service, but it did expose the vulnerability of OT systems and the need for advanced incident response mechanisms . This incident echoed past alerts, including LockBit’s 2024 attack on London Drugs, where there were threats of data leaks and ransom demands, highlighting the ongoing challenge of extortion-based cybercrime in Canada cdw.ca+6en.wikipedia.org+6infosecurity-magazine.com+6.

2. Airlines in the Crosshairs: When Highways Are the Skies

One of the most chilling developments in recent months has been the targeting of aviation networks by the Scattered Spider hacker group. In June 2025, the FBI confirmed that Canadian carriers WestJet and US carrier Hawaiian Airlines were victims of coordinated attacks theaustralian.com.au+13m.economictimes.com+13reuters.com+13. Reports emphasize that while flight safety wasn’t compromised, internal systems and passenger-facing platforms were impacted wsj.com.

Scattered Spider employs ruthless social-engineering tactics—often deceiving help-desk staff into bypassing multi-factor authentication—earning them repeated FBI warnings industrialcyber.co+13reuters.com+13businessinsider.com+13. Their pivot from casino ransomware (MGM, Caesars) and insurance hacks (Erie, Aflac) to aviation underlines a turn toward high-impact, high-risk industries reuters.com+1nypost.com+1.

This incursion has shone a bright spotlight on vulnerabilities within airline supply chains—especially third-party platforms and contact-centre systems. Homeland security

experts and private-sector analysts are urgently recommending tightened access protocols and stricter vetting for help-desk personnel ft.com+1theguardian.com+1.

3. Federal Strategy: From Policy to Proactive Action

Canada is not standing still. Just three months ago, Public Safety Canada announced the 2025 National Cyber Security Strategy, a visionary plan centered on four pillars:

• Securing Government Systems

• Protecting Private Critical Infrastructure

• Boosting Public Cyber Awareness

• Positioning Canada as a Global Cyber Leader publicsafety.gc.ca+1publicsafety.gc.ca+1en.wikipedia.org+1en.wikipedia.org+1publicsafety.gc.ca

Key initiatives include forming the Canadian Cyber Defence Collective—aimed at aligning government, industry, academia, and Indigenous stakeholders—and implementing mandatory cyber certifications for defence contractors publicsafety.gc.ca. The strategy also emphasizes AI, quantum-safe cryptography, and measures to detect misinformation campaigns—recognizing new threat vectors emerging from generative AI .

Last month, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) released its annual report for 2024–25. It indicated that the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security detected and mitigated approximately 2.3 trillion malicious actions—roughly 6.3 billion daily—revealing the sheer volume of attacks faced by federal defensive systems en.wikipedia.org+1canada.ca+1.

4. Closing the Talent Gap and Driving Industry Innovation

A persistent challenge remains: Canada lacks enough skilled cyber professionals. The 2025 National Cyber Strategy responds with workforce development programs—apprenticeships, expanded cyber-education curricula, and streamlined immigration pathways under Express Entry .

This coincides with federal investment in AI infrastructure and the AI Safety Institute (CAISI), underlining Canada’s aim to foster home-grown cyber innovation en.wikipedia.org. In parallel, industry reports like CDW’s 2025 study and the Canadian Cybersecurity Network show Canadian organizations increasingly adopting zero trust frameworks, AI-based threat detection, and outsourcing to MDR/XDR providers cdw.ca.

5. Major Takeaways for Canadian Businesses

• Here’s how Canadian organizations can fortify their defences:

• Assume breach is inevitable. Shift from reactive patching to proactive monitoring using AI and threat-hunting tools. Zero-trust is no longer optional .

• Secure supply chains and third-party partners. The airline breaches emphasize the need for vetting and oversight of vendors, especially in customer support or OT.

• Enhance social-engineering awareness. Training staff to resist help-desk and phishing-based attacks can be the first line of defence.

• Engage with national resources. Certify under federal standards, align with the Cyber Defence Collective, and tap “Get Cyber Safe” resources.

• Grow your cyber team. Consider apprenticeships, retraining, remote hiring, or partnering with educational institutions to fill your ranks.

• Explore AI & quantum readiness. While not critical today, planning for post-quantum cryptography and ML-powered threat detection will place you ahead of emerging threats.

6. Where Canada Goes Next

Canada is strengthening cyber resilience—but momentum must continue. Next steps include:

• Incident drills and cyber insurance testing. Crisis simulations (for airlines, utilities) integrated with insurance frameworks.

• Borderless threat intel sharing. Engaging deeply with Five Eyes partners, given the cross-border threats like Scattered Spider.

• AI oversight backed by regulation. Upcoming updates to Bill C-27 and Digital Charter legislation should codify AI safety and accountability standards.

• Support for SMBs and remote communities. The strategy emphasizes equity in cybersecurity—especially for rural and Indigenous communities often overlooked cpomagazine.com+4theguardian.com+4ft.com+4publicsafety.gc.ca+1cyber.gc.ca+1wired.com+13ft.com+13theguardian.com+13.

• Quantum-safe readiness. The promise of post-quantum encryption will take years to implement—but early adopters will benefit greatly.

7. Final Word: In Today's Digital Battlefield

Canada is at a critical juncture: malicious actors are relentless, and evolving tactics—from AI-fueled phishing to supply-chain manipulation—pose existential risks. Yet we also see strong national action: strategic investment, talent development, public–private

alignment, and international coordination.

For Canadian enterprises—from hospital IT teams to airline networks—cybersecurity is now fundamental business fitness. Breach prevention is no longer optional. It’s about resilience, trust, and sustaining digital sovereignty.

If there’s one message to take forward: cyber readiness is a collective journey. Whether you're a CISO, SME owner, or government official, your next step should be strategic alignment: integrate zero-trust frameworks, staff up, certify under federal standards, and build robust vendor oversight.

Because as the Scattered Spider saga shows: when aviation networks are vulnerable, so is every one of us.