The list of governments, organizations, and businesses facing cybersecurity threats, incidents, and breaches keeps getting longer. Just recently, the University of Windsor alerted students, faculty, and employees that its website, Blackboard, and other systems were temporarily unavailable. In a statement on Twitter, the university said that once it knew about the cybersecurity incident, it took immediate steps to secure its systems, data, and operations. It also added that external cybersecurity experts were conducting a full investigation.¹

The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) is investigating a cyberattack on one of its contractors—CMC Electronics, an aerospace company based in Montreal. In late May, the company alerted the government about a cyberattack. Around the same time, the Canadian government also announced that CMC Electronics would be part of a team working on upgrading Canada’s 85 CH-146 Griffon helicopters, a project worth $800 million.

While the nature and depth of the attack are unknown, it is believed to have been caused by a third-party intrusion in their network that disrupted operations. The company also added that it shut down the network to protect systems and data and launched an investigation.²

In late June, Lithuania’s defense ministry reported that ongoing, intense cyberattacks have been targeting the country’s Secure Data Transfer Network—a communication network for government officials that is built to withstand war and other crises.

A Russian-speaking hacking group, known as Killnet, has said it was behind the attack and it was in retaliation for Lithuania blocking shipments of some goods to Russia. The attack on the network is being investigated as a “distributed denial of service attack”, which is where website users are bombarded with fake traffic, leading them offline.³

In response to recent cyberattacks worldwide, many governments are taking action. The Canadian government has proposed a bill where companies in the finance, energy, telecommunications, and transportation sectors will be required to increase their cybersecurity, or they could face hefty penalties ranging from $1.0 million to $15.0 million.

If the bill is passed, the Act Respecting Cyber Security will provide the federal government with more control over how companies in the critical sector of the Canadian economy respond to cybersecurity incidents. Furthermore, companies will also have to report cybersecurity incidents to the government’s Cyber Centre and build programs that can detect severe attacks and protect cybersecurity systems.⁴

SentinelOne Inc., Announcing New Cybersecurity Integrations

SentinelOne Inc. is a provider of an autonomous cybersecurity platform in the U.S. and internationally. Recently, the company announced two key developments that will make its products more compelling to end-users and more fruitful for the company.

First, SentinelOne announced a new integration with Torq (a provider of no-code security automation) that would enable cybersecurity teams to improve their response time to cyberthreats, ease alert fatigue, maintain compliance, and improve overall cybersecurity.⁵

Second, the company announced integrations with IBM, Swimlane, and Intezer. At its core, these integrations will help increase the use of the company’s Singularity platform. The new integrations with security and software solutions providers cover security information and event management (SIEM), security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR), and malware analysis.⁶

CYBR ETF: Diversified Investing in Cybersecurity

A cybersecurity ETF offers a great alternative to gaining exposure to this industry without being locked into any single security, and without the hassle of hand-picking individual stocks. ETFs allow you to diversify by investing in multiple companies in multiple markets, ensuring that a single market shock won’t tank your portfolio.

If you’re interested in investing in a cybersecurity ETF, consider Canada’s first cybersecurity ETF, Evolve Cyber Security Index Fund (TSX Ticker: CYBR). CYBR ETF invests in global companies involved in the cyber security industry. For more information, visit the fund page here: https://evolveetfs.com/cybr/.

For the latest information on cybersecurity investing and industry updates on related investment products, sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

 

Sources:

1. Battagello, D., “Cybersecurity incident sparks days-long online systems outage at University of Windsor,” Windsor Star, June 22, 2022; https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/university-of-windsor-struggling-with-online-systems-outage.
2. Boutilier, A., and Cooper, S., “National Defence looking at potential ‘impacts’ after cyberattack on military contractor,” Global News, June 9, 2022; https://globalnews.ca/news/8906423/national-defence-potential-impacts-cyberattack-military-contractor.
3. Lyngaas, S., “Pro-Russia hackers claim responsibility for ‘intense, ongoing’ cyberattack against Lithuanian websites,” CNN, June 27, 2022; https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/politics/lithuania-cyber-attack-pro-russian-group/index.html.
4. Tunney, C., “New federal bill would compel key industries to bolster cyber security — or pay a price,” CBC, June 14, 2022; https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cyberattacks-bill-1.6487826.
5. SentinelOne Inc., “SentinelOne Integrates with Torq, Streamlining SOC Workflows with Automated Incident Response,” June 28, 2022; https://www.sentinelone.com/press/sentinelone-integrates-with-torq-streamlining-soc-workflows-with-automated-incident-response.
6. SentinelOne, Inc., “SentinelOne Expands Singularity Marketplace with New Integrations for SIEM, SOAR, and Malware Analysis,” June 22, 2022; https://www.sentinelone.com/press/sentinelone-expands-singularity-marketplace-with-new-integrations-for-siem-soar-and-malware-analysis.

 

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