Media Coverage

With the increasing daily use of digital technology, it’s critical for parents to integrate digital literacy and cyber hygiene into their child’s learning process. The Internet is a powerful tool offering a multitude of positive benefits, but it also has its risks. InBetween Magazine spoke with Myla Pilao, Director of Technology Marketing at Trend Micro and an avid advocate for the safety of children online. Pilao talked about Trend Micro's Cyber Academy and shared a few tips for parents to upgrade children’s digital literacy skills in a way that’s meaningful and engaging.

New ransomware numbers for Canada. Trend Micro questioned 103 Canadian IT decision makers about ransomware attacks on their organizations. There was no surprise: 60 per cent said their organization had detected a ransomware attempt in the past three years. Of those 77 per cent said that they were victimized, roughly 40 per cent of all firms surveyed were hit.

For the last 50 years, Canada has never been seen as a country likely to be attacked. Our army was dedicated to peacemaking. But the new world of ransomware and cyber attacks is a new and dangerous space where Canada is increasingly vulnerable and under attack. According to Trend Micro’s 2022 Mid-Year report, two thirds of Canadian companies are “not optimistic” about defending against ransomware in the coming year. According to the report, Canadian companies are being hit badly by the “steal and reveal” attacks; 66 percent have experienced data theft (exfiltration) and extortion. However, a surprisingly high number of Canadian companies have ransomware insurance and were able to file a claim as a result of an attack.

Trend Micro predicted that ransomware groups will increasingly target Linux servers and embedded systems over the coming years. It recorded a double-digit year-on-year (YoY) increase in attacks on these systems in 1H 2022. According to Jon Clay, VP of threat intelligence for Trend Micro, “New and emerging threat groups continue to evolve their business model, focusing their attacks with even greater precision. That’s why it’s essential that organizations get better at mapping, understanding, and protecting their expanding digital attack surface. A single, unified cybersecurity platform is the best place to start.”

Ransomware attacks on Linux servers are increasing, IT administrators have been warned. The alert comes in the midyear threat analysis roundup from researchers at Trend Micro. A new ransomware variant dubbed Cheerscrypt has been detected that targets VMware ESXi servers. That’s helped the 75 per cent increase in attacks on Linux systems in the first half of the year.