Northern Ont. businesses leading country in cybersecurity, expert says

Strong cybersecurity is essential in running a modern business, according to cybersecurity firm Watsec Cyber Risk Management.

However, its president, Doug Blakey, said most small-to-medium-sized businesses in Canada are ill-equipped to protect themselves or recover from cyber-attacks.

He told CTV News this is why he's impressed that northern Ontario appears to be leading the nation in developing more secure online business practices, through a federal cybersecurity certificate program called Cyber Secure Canada.

"It's the basics about how to protect yourself, how to protect the digital assets of the company," said Blakey, whose company is one of a few accredited to administer training under the certificate program.

"Northern Ontario is really leading the province and, quite frankly, the country because this is a program available to all of us."

STAYING SECURE FROM ONLINE THREATS

Timmins Manufacturing Solutions is the first business in the north to take part in the certification, with at least 10 more northern businesses undergoing the training.

There are only 20 cyber-certified businesses nationwide since the program launched two years ago, Blakey said.

The manufacturing company's vice-president, Eddy Lamontagne, said the Ontario North Economic Development Corporation (ONEDC) reached out to him about the initiative, explaining the dangers of leaving one's business vulnerable to online intruders.

"We hear so many stories about people being hacked and we needed to get secured for our customers," Lamontagne said.

"I feel more confident now that we can do business and keep our clients' (information) safe."

PROTECT COMPANY ASSETS, ATTRACT CLIENTS

The program coordinator for ONEDC's Northern Ontario Defence Readiness Program, Kim Rose, said being 'cyber-secure' benefits businesses in several ways.

For one, she said it keeps companies from losing money and data to online threats and it puts businesses in a better position for government contracts -- since Canada and the United States require contractors to have cybersecurity measures in place.

Rose likens it to protecting your home with locks and security systems.

"You wouldn't want anybody sneaking in and taking your information or your clientele base or any personal information or even putting in ransomware," Rose said.

She added that she's worked with a smaller northern company that almost fell victim to a cyberattack that tried to trick the business into paying money.

"Someone got into their system, changed the billing and they were about to pay the bill," Rose said.

"(Then) they said, 'Wait a second, this is too high. We don't owe this much.' And it was from that prompt that they got involved in cybersecurity."

'20 PER CENT WORK, 80 PER CENT BENEFIT'

Becoming cyber-certified involves anywhere from a few months to over a year of learning the basics of online safety, explained Blakey.

Learning the risks of online threats, how to restore lost business files and what to do in the event of a cyberattack are among the essentials, he said.

Most important, Blakey said, is developing policies for each aspect of the business' online activities. That way, he said, rules are set, making it more clear when something is awry.

"If you're going to do electronic transactions, using the internet, then you have a set process. If you're going to change the bank account, then you have a set process to follow," Blakey explained.

"That way, they're planned out beforehand and things are planned out in a secure manner."

Rose said northern businesses who contact the Northern Ontario Defence Readiness Program to start their cyber certification process can get around 80 per cent of the cost back.

The price when going it alone, she said, would be anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000, depending on the size of the business.

Blakey calls it doing "20 per cent of the work, for 80 per cent of the benefit."