All you need to know about CyberSecure Canada

Cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent and the operations are not only limited to major enterprise organizations. “Because the big companies are the ones making headlines of cyberattacks does not mean small startups are not victims. In fact, they are easier targets as they often lack the resources to invest in cybersecurity or provide training for their staff,” says Hashan Kodituwakku. Size doesn’t matter for cybercriminals and significant small businesses are being targeted. This has resulted in a huge amount of data and profit loss-to the point where some companies have had to shut down.

Hence, this becomes a wake-up call for businesses, employees and government. More reasons why CyberSecure Canada was born to address cyber threats plaguing small businesses by ensuring they are upto par in their cybersecurity. Wondering what CyberSecure Canada is all about? Read on as Hashan Kodituwakku, a successful IT expert with over 15 years in the field explores more on CyberSecure and how it can benefit your business. 

What is CyberSecure Canada?

CyberSecure Canada is a federal cyber certification program provided for small and medium-sized companies (less than 500 employees) to help them achieve a baseline of security. 

The aim is to increase awareness among these businesses about cybersecurity risks, and threats and how to be more secured. On top of that.,it comes with a nice logo that you can easily tell your partners, supply chain, clients and online shoppers that you are a certified trusted business that makes cybersecurity a priority. 

Why do you need to get CyberSecure Canada certification?

As mentioned earlier, the certification comes with permission to use the logo that can include in your marketing or website. This will serve as official public recognition that demonstrates compliance with the baseline security control. Hence, an organization gains a competitive advantage within their niche as customers understand it is a secured company that they can commit their valuable information. 

Cyber attacks can be devastating for any business and they can lead to financial loss, damaged reputation and loss of customers and clients. This certification can help limit the impact of cyberattacks. This certification can also start as a starting point for many businesses that lack adequate knowledge of cybersecurity. 

It will widen your opportunities as you will be able to compete for businesses that require cybersecurity certification both locally and globally. 

Who is eligible for CyberSecure Canada certifications?

Although the certification measures are meant for small and mid-sized, all companies can apply. However, it is advisable for the bigger organizations to go for more robust cybersecurity certification. 

What does it take to be certified?

To be certified, an organization has to demonstrate that they implement the 13 baseline security controls. For this, your organization needs to be audited by a certification body and the website contains the list of eligible organizations that can get it done. The 13 baseline security control include:

• Have an incident response plan
• Automatic patching of operating systems and applications;
• Enable security software;
• Secure device configuration
• Strong user authentication; (6
• Training for  employee awareness
• Have a data backup and encryption policy
• Secure mobility
• Establish basic perimeter defences
• Secure cloud and outsourced IT services
• Secure websites
• Implement access control and authorization
• Secure portable media.

What is the cost of CyberSecure Canada certification?

The cost for CyberSecure Canada certification lies in the needs of your organization. It has been stated on the website FAQ section that the cost of the certification process will be determined by the certification body.   Hashan Kodituwakku explains that If a company has already used a certification body products and services that have already meet the security control standard, they might not charge anything.  While other certification boards can charge from few hundreds of dollars to thousands depending on the audit needs and complexities of the business.