A survey by EY shows 81 per cent Canadian companies experienced at least 25 cybersecurity incidents over the past year, compared to 73 per cent of respondents globally.

The EY 2023 Global Cybersecurity Leadership Insights study also shows the global median cost of a breach jumped 12 per cent to US$2.5 million this year.

In Canada, 44 per cent of businesses reported they collectively spent US$50 million annually on cybersecurity.

Yogen Appalraju, a cybersecurity leader at EY Canada, says the country is now starting to experience more costly and high-profile breaches, in line with a trend south of the border.

The study suggests despite higher spending by companies, detection and response times appear to be slow, with more than half of respondents saying their business took an average of six months or longer to detect a breach.

The survey shows almost half of respondents find it difficult to balance security and innovation, and view cloud and internet of things technologies as big risks in the next five years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.