A joint study conducted by TELUS and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto surveyed more than 600 Canadian IT security professionals on Canadian IT security practices this year.

The economic downturn has increased the risk organizations:

“The threat environment worsens because when the economy goes into a downturn, job losses mount, and as people leave the organization many often take data with them,” Mr. Hejazi said.

About 33 per cent of reported security breaches this year came from within companies, and unauthorized access by employees represented the fastest-growing threat area, according to TELUS Security Labs managing director and study co-author Alan LeFort.

Last year, about 17 per cent of Canadian organizations reported so-called “insider breaches.” This year, that number has more than doubled to 36 per cent.

The complete article can be read at The Globe and Mail

A national cyber-security strategy that will seek to protect key infrastructure as well as Canadians’ identities is on the way , an RCMP executive says.

Details of the strategy — a partnership between the public and private sectors — will emerge over the next few months, said David Black, manager of the RCMP’s cyber infrastructure protection section. The plan is being put together by Public Safety Canada with input from telecommunications and technology companies such as Bell Canada Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Source: CBC