The headline numbers
Fortinet's 2026 Global Threat Landscape Report and its companion 2026 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report contain some of the bluntest figures we've seen on Canada's cyber exposure. Three numbers stand out:
- 374 Canadian organizations were extorted by ransomware in 2025, putting Canada in second place globally for victim volume.
- 17 billion total cyberattacks were directed at Canadian targets in 2025, up from 13.7 billion in 2024 — a 24% year-over-year jump.
- 82% of Canadian organizations reported at least one breach in the past year, and 19% of those incidents cost between USD $1M and $2M.
These are not abstract risks. They are the financial line items boards will be asked about next quarter.
AI is compressing the response window
Behind the volume sits a quieter, more dangerous trend: Fortinet's threat intelligence unit found that time-to-exploit for critical outbreaks is now two to four times faster than it was last cycle. Attackers are using AI for reconnaissance, weaponisation, and execution — tasks that used to require human operators with hours or days of effort.
Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist at Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, framed it as a shift in how cybercrime is organised, not just an uptick in volume: “Cybercrime is one of the world's most pervasive and costly threats, and our latest Global Threat Landscape Report reveals how malicious actors are beginning to leverage agentic AI to execute more sophisticated attacks.”
Globally, exploitation attempts rose 25.49%, driven in part by AI-accelerated tooling.
What this means for Canadian organizations
If you're running security for a Canadian business, the practical implication is that average defensive postures — weekly vulnerability scans, monthly patch cycles, business-hours SOC — no longer match the speed of the threat. Three things change:
- Detection windows have to shrink. A two-to-four-times faster time-to-exploit means MTTD targets measured in days are obsolete. Defenders need to move to minutes.
- Identity is the new perimeter. Most of the 374 ransomware cases involved credentials — phished, stuffed, or purchased. Zero-trust identity controls aren't optional.
- Backups must assume compromise. Modern ransomware crews target the backup system first. Immutable, off-network backups with tested restores are the only safe pattern.
The board conversation
Carl Windsor, Fortinet's CISO, summed up the strategic reframe: “Cybersecurity is not simply a technical issue but a strategic business risk. This year's Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report suggests that while boards generally recognize the importance of cybersecurity, more investment is needed to address key issues, such as emerging AI risks and the ongoing cybersecurity skills shortage.”
That gap between board recognition and actual investment is exactly where most Canadian organizations sit right now. Recognizing the risk has become table stakes; closing it is the work of the next 12 months.
How CyberSafe helps
CyberSafe's Cyber Defense Services are built for the compressed-window threat model: 24/7 SOC monitoring with SIEM, SOAR, and XDR; managed detection & response with documented MTTD/MTTR; and incident-response retainers so you don't negotiate scope during a crisis. For organizations rethinking their architecture, our Consulting team helps map a zero-trust roadmap aligned to PIPEDA, OSFI B-13, or Bill C-8 depending on your sector.