There are 1.15 million SMBs in Canada – only three have passed CyberSecure Canada's certification test

There are 1.15 million SMBs in Canada – only three have passed CyberSecure Canada's certification test Outlet: Financial Post Date: August 27, 2020 Outlet: IT World Canada Date: August 27, 2020 Twelve months ago Ottawa announced a cybersecurity certification program to encourage small and mid-sized businesses to take security more seriously and enable them to show customers and partners that they take it seriously. Those passing the CyberSecure Canada minimum standards audit get to display a logo on their websites and marketing material to increase confidence in dealing with the business. A year later, only three organizations have passed the certification test by one of four independent examination firms. A few others are preparing for certification. To put that in perspective, there are 1.15 million small businesses in the country and about 21,000 medium-sized firms. These logos are used by firms to show they have been certificatied under the CyberSecure Canada program. One sign of the modest interest in the program: After its launch, CyberSecure Canada listed six IT service firms that could perform certifications. Since then, Bell Canada and Siemens Canada have dropped off the list. Asked why, Marc Choma, Bell’s director of communications, said in an email that “We were happy to help in getting the program up and running. Our day to day focus at Bell Business Markets is on providing our enterprise customers with specific security solutions for their needs.” Messages left with Siemens Canada have not been returned. There has been some business interest in the program, according to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), which is responsible for CyberSecure Canada. There have been over 500 inquiries about the program, and half asked how to achieve certification; 32 per cent wanted to know how to become a certification body; and 19 per cent were general questions...