Canadians face persistent, sophisticated, daily cyber threats. Since 2018, we have experienced enormous change. The pandemic pushed almost all aspects of Canadians’ lives online at an accelerated pace, and, as a result, our critical infrastructure is becoming increasingly interconnected. State-sponsored cyber threat actors and organized cybercriminals have been quick to capitalize on these expanded opportunities and our increased reliance on online services. Canadians continue to be affected by this increase in cyber threat activity and pay a heavy price. Malicious cyber actors detrimentally impact key services, including healthcare and education, and steal Canadians’ private information and intellectual property. Revenue that should boost Canada’s economy disappears into criminal hands. The financial and reputational costs of cyber breaches are felt by small, medium and large enterprises, as well as governments at all levels. And, unfortunately, many organizations do not have the resources required to defend against these sophisticated threats. Moreover, in recent years we have seen increasingly brazen and sophisticated state-sponsored cyber actors conducting foreign interference and military action online. Canada has been targeted for our membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization6 (NATO) and for our support to Ukraine. To tackle and reduce the level of risk borne by Canadians and Canadian businesses from these cyber threats, Canada must be prepared to continuously adapt, and to foster and harness all of its collective abilities. 6 https://www.nato.int/ 8 National Cyber Security Strategy