Jennifer Quaid
Executive Director, Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange
In a landscape of ever-evolving cyber threats, Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange is facilitating the collaboration organizations need to stay secure.
Cyber threats aren’t what they used to be. “Cybercrime today is a full-on business,” says Jennifer Quaid, Executive Director of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX), a member-based not-for-profit. “It comes with a help desk and reviews. Cybercriminals can rent or buy ransomware tools rather than building them. The barriers to entry to becoming a cybercriminal are almost non-existent now.”
Any guardrails one might expect in a legitimate business — for example, companies restricting how AI and LLM systems access certain types of data do not exist in this the cyber criminal environment, according to Quaid. “AI has enabled cybercriminals to do more, faster, better,” she says. “They’re not operating with any rules.”
From ransomware as a service to AI-turbocharged tactics, cyber attacks have become more sophisticated, more plentiful, and far riskier. “Ransomware is hitting at an alarming rate,” says Quaid. “It’s getting exponentially faster. And AI is making phishing attacks so good that we can no longer rely on the grammar and spelling mistakes to identify a fake or malicious email. As well, impersonation and deep fakes have become a more common issue thanks to AI.
Against such a challenging backdrop, no single organization can defend themselves alone.
Collaboration is the only way that we’re going to level the playing field with the threat actors.
Embracing collaboration
Today’s cyber resilience needs to have collaboration at its core. “Collaboration is the only way that we’re going to level the playing field with the threat actors,” says Quaid. “It’s a force multiplier for any organization.”
Collaboration plays a critical role in addressing the evolving and persistent nature of cyber threats, and Quaid emphasizes that a cross-sectoral lens is equally important. “Cyber attacks nowadays are sector-agnostic,” she says. “If an attack worked in health care, it’s going to work in education, manufacturing and construction, too. If you’re only talking to organizations in your sector, you may not benefit from advanced knowledge of the attack vector and mitigation strategies.”
Building resilience and security is an imperative for organizations of all sizes. Large organizations are not the only ones being targeted by cybercrime. Small- and medium-sized businesses are increasingly being targeted, the payouts are smaller but less risky and usually easier for the attacker.
The benefits of membership
The CCTX has been enabling cross-sectoral collaboration for 10 years, and encourages member companies of all sizes, sectors, and levels of cyber preparedness to participate in its weekly threat calls and specialized collaboration groups.
“We have more than 200 member companies across 13 sectors,” says Quaid. “Our weekly threat calls typically have 60 to 80 organizations joining, and that’s where meaningful collaboration happens because people build trust.”
The CCTX is constantly evolving to meet its members’ needs in the face of an ever-shifting cybercrime landscape. “While our vision 10 years ago was a technical portal, today the most meaningful exchanges happen live, human to human,” adds Quaid.
Visit cctx.ca to learn more.
