Canadian IT clients aren’t taking AI cybersecurity concerns seriously, report finds

Brokers beware: Canadian IT professionals are more hesitant to implement artificial intelligence (AI) into their cybersecurity plans than the rest of the globe, finds new survey results.  

Yet, 38% of Canadian IT professionals view AI-enhanced attacks as the biggest threat to their company’s data security over the next 12 months. This finding was from GetApp’s 2024 Data Security survey, which garnered responses from 350 Canadian IT data security professionals, plus 4,000 globally.  

Though the report doesn’t delve fully into why Canadian IT pros might be more hesitant about AI in cybersecurity, one thing is for sure: this nation faces more cyber threats than most. 

Threat researchers at the smartphone-turned cybersecurity firm, BlackBerry, found Canada ranks as the fifth most-attacked country in the cyberspace using new, unique malware variants. 

“Our research shows that there is a positive correlation between an increased number of cyberattacks and countries that possess greater internet penetration, significant economies, and larger populations,” a lead Blackberry threat researcher commented.  

Canada also ranked as the 12th most breached country in the world, with 4.4 million leaked accounts in 2024 Q3, according to data by cybersecurity company Surfshark. That’s double the previous quarter.

That might explain Canadian IT pros low confidence levels in AI cybersecurity.

In fact, Canada ranks among some of the lowest confidence levels (53%) in AI when compared to the rest of the globe (62%), GetApp results say. Canada also has the highest number of IT pros who fear AI-fuelled attacks (47%). 

Of Canadians, three-quarters (74%) work in firms that expect to increase IT security spending in 2025. And they identify threat detection and cloud security as top AI investment priorities for their firms. 

Though that’s hopeful, it’s the lowest commitment to cybersecurity spending compared to all other surveyed countries. (The global average is 84%.) 

Despite the elevated threat, some Canadian IT pros are optimists. 

A full 88% of Canadian IT professionals already use AI-powered security features. However, Canada falls behind the 92% global average. 

For those bettering their cybersecurity posture, both real-time monitoring (43%) and routine task automation (39%) stand out as the most used AI cybersecurity features nationally. 

And just over half (53%) of Canadian IT professionals say AI helps security teams enhance their defences. 

Feature image by iStock.com/gilaxia