The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security protects Canadians against cyber threats

The increasing threat of cyber attacks

Canada is confronting an expanding and complex cyber threat landscape with a growing cast of malicious and unpredictable state and non-state cyber threat actors—from cybercriminals to hacktivists—that are targeting our critical infrastructure and endangering our national security. At the same time, cybercrime remains a persistent, widespread and disruptive threat to individuals, organizations and all levels of government across Canada.

As such, Canadian cybersecurity professionals are under pressure from all sides. They are not only defending corporate networks, but they are also protecting sensitive client data, employees’ privacy, and in some cases, the trust of entire communities. They are looking for every advantage to stay ahead of attackers.

This is not all circumstantial, as the 2025 CIRA Cybersecurity Survey, which surveyed 500 IT professionals across Canada, found that most organizations are taking steps to defend themselves.

Diving into the data, more than half (54 per cent) of organizations use network monitoring tools to spot risks early, while other others rely on vulnerability scanning, employee monitoring, or advanced threat detection.

Despite this, when prevention fails, the consequences are costly: the vast majority (74 per cent) of organizations that experience a ransomware attack end up paying the ransom, with average payouts reaching $25,000, demonstrating the potentially catastrophic financial impact on companies when cyber attacks occur. These findings reveal both progress and a gap. Organizations are investing in safeguards but often are left scrambling once an attack succeeds.

This is where the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (the Cyber Centre), a part of Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) plays a pivotal role. As Canada’s national technical authority on cybersecurity, the Cyber Centre was established as a one-stop shop for Canadian organizations with expert guidance, advanced cyber defence capabilities and coordinated incident response. 

What does the Cyber Centre offer

The Cyber Centre protects systems of national importance and leads operational responses to federal cyber incidents. It also provides trusted advice and guidance to Canadians and Canadian organisations through publications and public awareness campaigns like Get Cyber Safe. Key offerings include:

• Cyber alerts and advisories: timely updates on active threats and vulnerabilities with recommended actions.
• Tools and services: practical, opensource applications available for cyber security teams like Assemblyline for malware analysis and Howler for Security Operations Centre triage. The Cyber Centre provides practical tools including risk and audit frameworks to assess organizational security.
• Learning Hub: cybersecurity training and capacity-building across sectors.
• Cyber Security Readiness Goals: practical guidance for organizations to assess and improve their cyber posture.
• COMSEC Services: support for secure communications and cryptographic protections.

These programs deliver real-time intelligence, technical expertise and coordinated responses that help organizations contain threats, recover faster and build stronger, more resilient security practices over time.

Why it matters

This is not purely theoretical. The Cyber Centre has had measurable impact. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year alone, it issued over 300 pre-ransomware notifications to Canadian organizations. These proactive measures are estimated to have prevented losses of up to $18 million.

Discover how the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security can help your organization with tailored advice, tools and support to meet today’s evolving threats.