With internet usage in Canada peaking at 95% in 2022, more than 7 in 10 people say they’ve been victims of a cybersecurity incident, ranging from receiving spam to demanding a ransom. And while connected smart devices are more popular than ever, between 28% and 40% don’t trust them, a Statistics Canada survey released Thursday reveals.
As we can see, Statistics Canada has cast a very wide net in the definition of “cybersecurity incident” by even including spam and the receipt of fraudulent content. On the other hand, certain types of more serious incidents have clearly increased in recent years. The intrusion into his account has thus increased from 5.1% to 8.3% since 2018 and the fraudulent use of the payment card has increased by 60% to settle in 2022 at 9%.
The impact of infections by viruses or malware, which seems to have increased according to several observers, is not confirmed by Statistics Canada. From 10.4% in 2018, we went to 11.4%. Finally, the nightmare of every Internet user, ransomware, remains quite rare, falling from 4.1% in 2018 to 3.8% in 2022.
Present as ever on the Internet, in a proportion of 95%, Canadians also report in 2022 having access in 87% of cases to download speeds exceeding 50 MB/s. They were 72% four years earlier.
Additionally, 8% felt “victimized” as a result of an online event, such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, or related to the misuse of photos, videos, or other personal content. It is the youngest, those aged 15 to 24, who have the highest rate of victimization, at 11%.
Additionally, 73% say they have seen content online that they suspected to be false or inaccurate, such as misinformation.
Note that 84% of Canadians had access to the Internet from a mobile data plan. On the other hand, if you only rely on your phone to access the network, you are a rare bird: only 2% of respondents limit themselves to this solution.
Smart home devices are now present at 47% of respondents, with smart speakers (Google Home, Echo, HomePod) being the most prevalent at 30%.
About two-thirds of Canadians, 68% to be exact, have also noted the presence of artificial intelligence online. Most often, in 48% of cases, these are chatbots or content or product recommendation algorithms.
Greater use, obviously, does not necessarily engender trust. When asked about the security of their personal information, 31% of Canadians do not trust technologies using artificial intelligence. Smart speakers are the most likely to be mistrusted, with 40% distrusting them.
