Majority of cybersecurity executives expect to budget more to cope with COVID: study

TORONTO — A new study estimates more than half of executives responsible for cybersecurity expect to grow their budgets in response to new challenges raised by the COVID pandemic.

Consulting firm PwC Canada says a poll of 3,000 executives around the world, found 55 per cent expected to budget more for security, with Canadian responses about the same.

But only 34 per cent of the 100 Canadian participants in the survey were confident their cyber budgets are being spent correctly, compared with 44 per cent globally.

The concern raised most often by the Canadians their ability to prepare for with security events that are unlikely to happen but of high impact if they do occur.

Another top issue related to COVID, both for the Canadian respondents and globally, was being able to take cybersecurity and privacy into consideration with every business decision.

The PwC Canada study is conducted annually, with polling this year done online in July and August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2020.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2020.