Crime really does pay

Between recent ransomware attacks like “WannaCry” and warnings from the Bank of Canada’s June financial review that the country’s bank sector is vulnerable to hacking attacks that could undermine the financial system, cybercrime is getting a lot of attention. But in Canada’s justice system, it’s still not being treated as the serious crime that it is.

PWC’s 2016 Global Economic Crime Survey found that 16 per cent of Canadian organizations reported losses due to cybercrime between $50,000 and $5 million, while another 31 per cent calculated an estimated loss between $1,000 and $50,000. The category of losses greater than $1 million increased from five per cent in 2014 to 12 per cent in 2016.

As the problem gets worse, it is clear that Canada still isn’t doing enough to combat cyber threats. It has developed a strategy for combating cybercrime consisting of elements such as securing government systems, partnering to secure vital systems outside the federal government, strengthening law enforcement resources and promoting public awareness. International co-ordination is an important element of the strategy, given that this type of crime is often cross-border presenting challenges for both evidence gathering and prosecution. But the strategy lacks a crucial element. The missing element is evident from Statistics Canada data, which suggest there may be more that can be done to ensure an effective deterrence for economic crimes including cybercrime. for the years where data are available. While it’s true that some originate outside Canada’s borders, even as the total number of fraud incidents rises dramatically, the numbers of charges, guilty findings, and long sentences have all declined steadily since 2011. Statcan’s Integrated Criminal Court Survey shows that for individuals who are sentenced, over 40 per cent of them will be ordered to serve one month or less while over 80 per cent will get less than six months.