Canada’s top 10 riskiest online cities for cybercrime risk

Did your city make the list?

For the second time in a row, Burlington, Ont. topped Norton and independent research firm, Sperling’s BestPlaces, list of Canada’s top 10 cities that have the highest number of cybercrime risk factors.

“In our examination of the riskiest online cities, we’ve considered a number of factors that can potentially affect online safety,” said Bert Sperling, founder of Sperling’s BestPlaces and lead researcher for the analysis. “By looking at data from consumer lifestyle habits as well as cybercrime data provided by Symantec, maker of Norton products, we’re able to provide a holistic view of the various factors that put a person at potential risk.”

The study determined the per-capita rankings by examining several consumer behaviors – from the prevalence of PCs and smartphones, to social networking and accessing potentially unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots, among others.

Burlington ranked high in all four categories measuring cybercrime data per capita, including attempted malware infections, attempted web attacks, attempted spamming and attempted bots by city. Burlington also ranked high amongst Internet use and expenditures.

“This is the second time that Burlington has come out on top in this ranking,” said Rick Goldring, mayor of Burlington. “We choose to look at the positive aspects. This report shows our residents are connected and are reaping the benefits of using the Internet for both personal and business needs. This is a good opportunity to look at these risk factors and remind residents – even those in other cities – to protect themselves and their information online.”

The Top 10 Riskiest Online Cities in Canada are:

1) Burlington, ON
2) Port Coquitlam, BC
3) Vancouver, BC
4) Langley, BC
5) Calgary, AB
6) Fredericton, NB
7) Toronto, ON
8) New Westminster, BC
9) Edmonton, AB
10) Victoria, BC

Norton reminds web surfers to protect themselves against cyber risk. Proceed with caution when using Wi-Fi hotspots
 and make sure you’re using a secured network if conducting online purchases or banking from a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Also, use complex and unique passwords for each site, including a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers. Make passwords as random as possible, and change them regularly. Lastly, stay educated.