Every year, the cybersecurity conversation in Canada grows louder and more urgent. The Canadian Cybersecurity Network’s latest publication, The State of Cybersecurity in Canada 2025, brings that urgency into focus. At just over a hundred pages, the report is one of the most comprehensive overviews of the current cyber landscape across Canadian industries. It combines expert commentary, data from multiple sources, and policy insight to paint a picture of how prepared (or unprepared) Canadian organizations really are.
The Canadian Cybersecurity Network (CCN) is a national, non-profit collaboration platform that connects cybersecurity professionals, researchers, and policy leaders. Its goal is to strengthen Canada’s collective cyber resilience by promoting information sharing, professional development, and evidence-based policy discussions. They release an annual “State of Cybersecurity in Canada” report to bring awareness to areas that need improvement or growth.
The results from the report are both familiar and sobering. The report doesn’t just describe new attack techniques or exotic threat actors. Instead, it underscores something more fundamental: the same problems that have haunted cybersecurity for years are still here, and in many cases, they’re getting worse. Misconfigurations, ransomware, supply chain compromise, and a lack of qualified people remain at the core of Canada’s cyber risk profile.
Below is a detailed rundown of the report’s major findings, its most important takeaways, and why they matter for organizations trying to navigate an increasingly digital and interconnected economy.
1. Misconfiguration: The Root of Most Breaches
One of the clearest takeaways from the 2025 report is that the biggest cybersecurity issues are not the most sophisticated ones. The leading cause of compromise continues to be simple misconfiguration. Whether in cloud environments, IoT networks, or hybrid infrastructures, the same mistakes appear repeatedly open storage buckets, default credentials, unrestricted administrative access, and poorly segmented systems.
According to data cited in the report, as many as eight in ten breaches can be traced back to some form of misconfiguration or unpatched exposure. While this figure can vary by sector, the theme is consistent. Organizations are losing the fight not because the enemy is too strong, but because the basics aren’t being done right.
The report’s authors point out that Canadian companies are adopting digital tools faster than they’re securing them. Cloud platforms and connected devices have dramatically improved productivity and visibility, but they’ve also expanded the attack surface in ways many teams are still not equipped to manage.
The results are clear: Canada’s most persistent cyber risk isn’t a state-backed actor operating in the shadows. It’s an internet-facing system left exposed by accident.
2. Ransomware and Supply Chain Threats Dominate the Landscape
Ransomware remains the most visible and disruptive threat across Canada’s digital ecosystem. The report identifies ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) as a major driver behind the increasing volume and sophistication of attacks. What used to be the domain of technically advanced criminals is now accessible to anyone with a modest budget and a willingness to share profits with a ransomware group.
The trend is especially troubling for small and mid-sized organizations. The report notes that many victims aren’t targeted because of who they are, but simply because they are vulnerable and reachable. Managed service providers and third-party vendors are particularly at risk, serving as amplifiers for attacks that can cascade into larger ecosystems.
Closely tied to ransomware is the growing danger of supply chain compromise. The report emphasizes that software dependencies, vendor integrations, and third-party APIs have become the new pathways into critical environments. Attackers no longer need to breach an organization directly when they can infiltrate a trusted partner upstream.
This shift toward indirect access mirrors what’s happening globally. High-profile incidents like SolarWinds and MOVEit are reshaping how Canadian enterprises think about third-party risk. The conclusion here is unavoidable, an organization is only as secure as the weakest link in its supply chain.
3. State Actors Are Playing the Long Game
The report also devotes considerable attention to state-sponsored threats, particularly those originating from hostile or strategic rivals. Unlike cybercriminals, who seek immediate financial gain, these threat actors are focused on long-term access and influence.
According to the report, state actors are increasingly “pre-positioning” themselves inside critical infrastructure networks during peacetime. This preemptive infiltration allows them to gather intelligence, disrupt systems during conflict, or use access as leverage in geopolitical disputes.
For Canada, this represents more than a digital security issue, it’s a matter of national resilience. The energy grid, transportation systems, and communication infrastructure are all interconnected and increasingly digitized. Any prolonged disruption in one can cascade into others.
This reality underscores a critical truth, cybersecurity is part of national defense. It’s no longer only about protecting information but ensuring that essential services remain operational under all conditions.
4. The Talent Gap Is Canada’s Hidden Crisis
While the headlines often focus on technology, the report makes it clear that Canada’s most severe vulnerability might be human. The cybersecurity talent shortage remains one of the country’s largest barriers to progress.
Unfilled positions continue to rise, leaving organizations stretched thin and reactive rather than proactive. The demand for skilled defenders, analysts, and engineers has far outpaced supply. In many organizations, cybersecurity has become a shared responsibility among overworked IT staff who often lack specialized training.
This gap affects more than just incident response times. It undermines the ability to perform proper risk assessments, manage security tooling effectively, and sustain long-term programs.
The report calls for deeper collaboration between academia, government, and the private sector to develop the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Upskilling operational teams and integrating security awareness into all job roles are highlighted as critical steps in addressing the workforce shortage. Without skilled people, technology and policy can only go so far.
5. Policy Momentum Is Building, But Implementation Is Lagging
The 2025 report spends significant time on Canada’s evolving regulatory landscape, which has advanced notably in recent years. The introduction of Bill C-26 , the Cybersecurity Act, represents a landmark shift in how critical infrastructure providers are expected to manage and report cybersecurity incidents. Similarly, the Countering Foreign Interference Act, passed by the Government of Canada, signals the federal government’s intent to address cyber-espionage and political interference.
These are major steps forward, and the report commends Canada for moving toward a more formalized national cybersecurity framework. However, the authors caution that legislation alone will not solve the problem. Many small and mid-sized organizations lack the funding, staff, and expertise to comply effectively with complex new requirements.
Without adequate support and practical guidance, regulations risk becoming checkboxes rather than meaningful defenses. The report calls for the creation of national incentives, funding programs, and technical partnerships to help organizations implement what the laws require.
In other words, Canada is building the right structure, but the foundation still needs reinforcement.
6. Sector-by-Sector Breakdown
The report’s sector analysis provides one of its most useful perspectives, breaking down cybersecurity risk across industries.
Public Sector: Continues to face persistent targeting by espionage-focused actors. Legacy systems and fragmented IT environments remain major weaknesses. While federal systems have improved, smaller municipal and provincial bodies lag behind.
Energy and Utilities: The most critical sector from an operational standpoint. The integration of IT and OT environments introduces new vulnerabilities, and many organizations still struggle with segmentation, monitoring, and timely patching. The report highlights the growing risk of “spillover” attacks that begin in IT systems and inadvertently affect operational networks.
Retail and Finance: Remain high-value targets for credential theft, payment data compromise, and phishing. The push toward digital payments and e-commerce have widened the attack surface. Many organizations are turning to stronger identity and access management, but credential-based breaches remain high.
Education: One of the most vulnerable sectors in the report. Limited budgets, outdated infrastructure, and high data sensitivity make schools and universities frequent ransomware targets.
Supply Chain and Manufacturing: Increasingly exposed to attacks through remote access tools and vendor integrations. The report stresses that industrial and logistics systems need better visibility into third-party connections and dependencies.
Across all sectors, the same pattern emerges, technology adoption is outpacing the ability to secure it.
7. Recommendations That Actually Matter
While many of the report’s recommendations may sound familiar, their repetition reflects an uncomfortable truth, that they’re still not being implemented widely enough. The key actions highlighted include:
- Fix the basics – Audit and correct misconfigurations before they become breach points.
- Segment networks – Prevent lateral movement between IT and OT systems.
- Scrutinize the supply chain – Demand transparency and continuous security validation from vendors.
- Invest in people – Develop cybersecurity skills within operational teams and across business functions.
- Prepare for recovery – Incident response and business continuity must be treated as core functions, not afterthoughts.
- Collaborate and share intelligence – Threat data sharing across sectors can dramatically improve collective defense.
The report’s underlying message is that no single organization can achieve resilience alone. Cybersecurity must be viewed as a shared ecosystem problem that depends on coordination between industry, government, and technology providers.
8. The Real Message: Canada’s Security Depends on Execution
At its core, The State of Cybersecurity in Canada 2025 is not about new threats or futuristic risks. It’s about execution. The technology exists. The regulations are coming into place and the awareness is higher than ever. Yet, the gap between knowing and doing remains wide.
Canada’s cyber readiness will not be defined by how much information we have about threats, but by how effectively we turn that information into action. The report’s findings show that many of the same vulnerabilities highlighted five or even ten years ago are still being exploited today.
Cyber risk has evolved into operational risk. The compromise of a single endpoint or vendor connection can have physical consequences, disrupting critical services or affecting public safety. For organizations operating in industrial, energy, or infrastructure environments, cybersecurity is now inseparable from operational resilience.
Final Thought
This report doesn’t introduce new ideas, and that’s exactly why it matters. It reinforces what many professionals already know but still struggle to operationalize. The fundamentals of visibility, segmentation, secure configuration, and skilled people remain the pillars of effective defense.
The challenge for Canada’s cybersecurity community is no longer awareness. It’s the discipline to execute, to move from policy to practice, and to close the gap between intent and implementation.
How Enaxy Can Help
At Enaxy, we help organizations turn cybersecurity principles into measurable progress. Our team works alongside security and operations leaders to:
- Build actionable frameworks for visibility and segmentation
- Strengthen configurations through hands-on testing and validation
- Develop tailored training that empowers teams to act decisively
- Bridge the gap between strategy and daily execution
We’ve seen firsthand that success in cybersecurity isn’t about knowing what to do, it’s about doing it consistently and effectively.
If your organization is ready to move from awareness to action, connect with us at info@enaxy.com to learn how Enaxy can help strengthen your cybersecurity foundation.