Cybercrime rising rapidly in Alberta
The number of police-reported cybercrimes in Alberta has more than doubled over a four-year period and there is no sign those numbers will improve any time soon.
Behind Ontario (9,484) and British Columbia (5,603), Alberta (4,668) ranked as the third-worst province in Canada in 2017 when it came to police-reported cybercrimes, a new Statistics Canada report released this week shows.
The 2017 number in Alberta represents a rate of 108.6 cases per 100,000 people.
Cybercrime in Canada has seen a steady rise since 2014 when nationally there were close to 15,200 reported crimes. In 2017 that number was closer to 28,000 or about 81.3 cases per 100,000 people.
The provinces reporting the fewest cybercrimes in 2017 included Prince Edward Island (106), Newfoundland and Labrador (281), Manitoba (719), New Brunswick (810), Saskatchewan (893) and Nova Scotia (1,688).
Alberta’s numbers have, much like the national average, risen dramatically since 2014 when there were just 1,638 reported crimes.
That number climbed to 2,015 in 2015 and again in 2016 when it hit 2,891.
Calgary has seen one of the most dramatic increases in Canada when cybercrime went up to 1,706 in 2017 from 83 incidents in 2014. The increase in Edmonton has been more gradual, up to 1,643 in 2017 from 531 in 2014.
In both cases that represents a rate of around 115 cases per 100,000 people.
While Statistics Canada does not break down the type of crime on a province-by-province basis, it does show that across Canada fraud is the most common crime (13,426) followed by making or distribution of child pornography (2,868), indecent/harassing communications (2,302), uttering threats (1,291), luring a child via a computer (1,132), criminal harassment (1,291), identity fraud (1,082) and child pornography (1,041).
Ritesh Kotak, a cyber-security consultant, said the Statistics Canada numbers are “grossly low ” compared to reality but applauded law enforcement agencies for collecting the data.
Kotak said as thieves become more adept at stealing from unsuspecting internet users, there will continue to be year-to-year increases as more and more services like smart homes and use of the internet to control things becomes more mainstream.
“One of the things that we struggle with is the true definition of cybercrimes and how we count them,” he said.
Kotak said to an IT professional a cybercrime might be the hacking of a complex computer system. But some people in the education sector consider online bullying to be an example of a cybercrime. And then there are ransomware and phishing scams.
“It’s a balancing act that we are going to have to struggle with. It’s a balance between convenience and personal security.
“The internet is a great thing and it allows us to connect to each other and makes our lives easier. But there’s a price to pay for this convenience and that price can be data, or privacy, or your finances.”
University of Alberta’s chief information security officer, Gordie Mah, said the numbers are troubling, however the data raises more questions than answers.
It’s generally held that many cybercrimes go undetected and many more go unreported, partly because people are embarrassed but also because there is a feeling that the chance of prosecution is low.
“It’s a double-edged sword. Anonymity offers great benefits to protect personal information but anonymity also protects and hides those with less than honourable intent,” he said.
As the world becomes even more connected through the internet of things there will be more avenues for people to be victimized, Mah said.
He said people need to employ “good cyber hygiene” like keeping software updated and current, as well as installing the latest patches and fixes, running proactive scans and ensuring their home Wi-Fi is configured securely.
He also warned people to be cautious about using public Wi-Fi and not to reuse passwords across multiple accounts.
Mah said that when it comes to the internet, people need to be alert and “have some healthy paranoia.”
“Be skeptical,” he warned.