The RCMP says ransomware and other cyberattacks are seeing an overall increase in activity in Canada affecting all sectors, including the food industry..The Western Standard recently published an exclusive story examining how food shortages have been magnified by a string of destroyed food processing facilities..Shortly after the story, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a warning to food processors that ransomware attacks are on the rise in that sector, especially during critical planting and harvesting seasons..The Western Standard contacted the RCMP to look deeper into whether the Canadian food sector has been a target for cyberattacks..“In 2021, the NC3 and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received cybercrime and cyber-enabled fraud reports impacting various sectors, such as the food sector, finance, health, IT, and other sectors,” RCMP told the Western Standard..When it comes to the food and agriculture sector, specifically:.Of all the NC3 files with a Canadian nexus in 2021, 2% of the total files related to the food sector..In 2021, the CAFC had 52 reports relating to cybercrime in the food/hospitality sector and 22 in the agricultural sector..According to the RCMP’s National Cybercrime Coordination Unit (NC3), from April 1, 2020 to February 2022, it received more than 3,000 requests for assistance due to cyberattacks from domestic and international law enforcement partners..According to the NC3 website, since the start of 2022, approximately 55% of all requests to the cyber crimes unit have involved ransomware..RCMP said cybercrime affects all business sectors and organizations and “continues to go under-reported to police”.“Cybercriminals continue to evolve their tactics to extort victims and recent high profile ransomware attacks around the world have resulted in significant payments to cybercriminals, which further incentivizes criminals to target critical industries and large organizations,” said RCMP..“We take cyber threats extremely seriously, investigate them accordingly, and keep our level of vigilance at a constant high.”.Nationally, the RCMP said it investigates criminal offences related to cybercrime that fall under the Federal Policing mandate and target federal government systems and networks, Canada’s critical infrastructure sectors, and those that compromise Canadian institutions and key business assets with high economic impact..For anyone who has been a victim of ransomware, cybercrime, fraud or any other type of scam, the RCMP said it’s “important you report [the] instance” to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or by phone at 1-888-495-8501..“Reporting is critical as it enables law enforcement measures to combat cybercrime and helps identify linkages across separately reported cybercrime incidents, such as links to organized crime,” said RCMP..For more information on ransomware, RCMP encourages people to visit the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security’s Ransomware landing page..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,mrisdon@westernstandard.news,.Twitter: @melrisdon
