Toronto, ON (February 18, 2011) –"While it is too soon to determine the full extent of damages caused by the recent cyber-attack against the Government of Canada, it is not too early for businesses and the public to learn the important lessons which this incident provides" says chartered accountant and computer security expert Jerrard Gaertner. "We may never know if there were actions which could have been taken to entirely prevent this disquieting breach of security. We do know, however, that there were things that could have been done to make the hacker's job more difficult, at the very least."
Asked what might have been done better, Gaertner replied: "As far back as 2002 and then again in 2005, the Auditor General reported concerns regarding Canada's cyber-security preparedness. The AG identified a number of issues including out-of-date standards, the need to improve security monitoring, insufficient security testing and poor security awareness training. While progress has definitely been made in these areas since 2002, cyber-security risks have increased even faster, meaning that at the end of the day, the government may be farther behind than it was ten years ago!"
"Add to this the fact that Canada is estimated to spend approximately $0.50 per person per year on federal government computer security initiatives, while the US spends closer to $6.00 per person per year and you begin to understand just how far behind we may have fallen,"
"The lessons for both the government and the private sector are clear:
- Pay close attention to your computer security and the protection of your data or you may find your systems and records are compromised.
- Address known vulnerabilities and weaknesses aggressively and on a timely basis. It is hard enough to deal with new threats as they arise, let alone new ones and old ones at the same time.
- Recognize the value of your information and the potential cost/loss arising from a security breach. Resource your computer security function accordingly.
- Security is expensive – a compromised system is even more so!"
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