Cyber risk as a macro factor
Cyber incidents have become the leading operational threat across Canada’s corporate landscape. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security recorded a 38 % rise in ransomware events in 2024, with average downtime per breach exceeding nine days.
| Indicator | 2020 | 2024 | 2025 (YTD) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ransomware incidents (annual) | 3,400 | 4,700 | 5,200 | CCCS 2025 |
| Avg. cost per breach (C$ millions) | 4.4 | 6.7 | 7.1 | IBM/CCCS |
| Firms with cybersecurity insurance (%) | 42 % | 57 % | 60 % | Deloitte 2025 Risk Report |
The opportunity in resilience
Executives increasingly view cybersecurity as a differentiator. Firms investing > 3 % of IT budgets in security report 20 % faster digital transformation outcomes.
What leaders can do
- Treat cyber as enterprise risk, not IT issue. Report to board quarterly.
- Build incident-response simulation. Annual drills reduce breach impact 25 %.
- Adopt “zero-trust” architecture. Especially critical for remote and hybrid teams.
- Use cybersecurity as brand equity. Communicate trust as part of ESG and customer value.
Arcus Insight: Security maturity directly predicts digital ROI. The most resilient firms are the most innovative.