cybercrime

We’re Number 1: Waterloo Region Top In Cybercrime


Statistics Canada has a data set for Police-reported cybercrime (normalised by 100K population). In 2021 the national average was 184.13 reports per 100K. The report is broken down by census metropolitan area, and guess who is #1? That’s right, the Region of Waterloo. A dubious honour. Are we just better at detecting and reporting? A bigger target? An easier target? More mid-sized companies?

There’s a textual commentary that goes with the charts and data. But i found the most interesting was the type / motive breakdown:

Motive20192021
Business was impacted by any cyber security incidents20.818.1
Incidents to disrupt or deface the business or web presence3.23.5
Incidents to steal personal or financial information6.15.9
Incidents to steal money or demand ransom payments8.86.7
Incidents to steal or manipulate intellectual property or business data1.61.8
Incidents to access unauthorised or priviledged areas3.73.8
Incidents to monitor or track business activity1.21.6
Incidents with an unknown motive7.97.0

61% of companies reported spending some money to prevent a cyber security incident. That’s 40% who saw no point. And together, that was $10B. 1 in 10 had a ransom related incident, and of those, 82% did not pay.

But, coming back to the headline. How can Waterloo be 2x Ottawa on reported Cybercrime? Comments?