This is an excerpt, read the full article on Global News.
A wave of high-profile cyberattacks has recently hit hospitals, businesses and organizations in Ontario, including the LCBO this week and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and Scouts Canada in December.
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Charles Finlay, the founding executive director of the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, agrees that these attacks are increasing — especially the kind that hit SickKids on Dec. 18, which affected phone lines and internal clinical systems and delayed lab and imaging results.
“They’re increasing across western democracies,” Finlay says. “This is a serious problem, a serious challenge, that is becoming increasingly severe.”
Another reason for the rise, he says, is that the ransomware industry is growing as a multi-billion dollar global criminal industry.
“It’s supported by sovereign countries that harbour ransomware attackers, and ransomware attacks have proven to be highly lucrative,” says Finlay, noting that cyberattacks are also increasing as our reliance on technology does.