Over the last five years, trends in cyber threats and cyberattacks have increased exponentially in Canada as businesses have shifted their activities online.  About 1 one in five businesses in the country have experienced some form of cyberthreat that has affected their bottom-line. To help improve SME cyber-resiliency and protections, the Government of Canada has launched CyberSecure Canada.

CyberSecure Canada is a voluntary cybersecurity certification process designed specifically for Canadian SMEs and other organizations to help improve cybersecurity practices, promote trust and provide a competitive advantage that will result in increased consumer confidence in the Canadian digital economy. The program was launched jointly by Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, the Standards Council of Canada, and the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity. It features a comprehensive certification process that includes 13 core requirements for certification. These 13 baseline security controls were developed by the Canadian Center for Cybersecurity and are currently being used to develop the Canadian National Cyber Security Standard.

One of the primary goals of CyberSecure Canada is to increase education and awareness of cybersecurity among Canadian organizations, so in addition to certification, CyberSecure Canada also has a host of free e-learning modules. There are currently 3 modules available online with more modules being added throughout 2021.

For more information about CyberSecure Canada, including information on the 13 baseline security controls and the free e-learning modules, please visit www.canada.ca/CyberSecure.

For a brief one-page review of the CyberSecure Program, click here.

http://charlottetownchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/CyberSecureCanada.pdf