The Canadian Cybersecurity Network (CCN) released a national report examining the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, concluding that AI is transforming both the scale of cyber threats and the way organizations must defend themselves.
The report is being unveiled at the NGen Advanced Manufacturing Conference in Toronto, where leaders from industry, technology, and government are discussing the future of Canada’s digital economy and the role of secure digital infrastructure.
The findings highlight a rapidly emerging reality. Artificial intelligence is simultaneously accelerating cyberattacks while becoming one of the most powerful tools ever introduced for defending against them.
Across industries, organizations are embedding AI into products, workflows, and decision making at unprecedented speed. At the same time, cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to automate reconnaissance, generate convincing phishing campaigns, and produce deepfake impersonations of executives and employees.
Global incident data referenced in the report indicates that synthetic text used in malicious emails has doubled in recent years. Ransomware actors are also beginning to use large language models to assist with malware development and fraud campaigns.
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Yet AI is not only a threat multiplier. Artificial intelligence is also emerging as a critical defensive capability in modern cybersecurity operations. Security teams are using AI to analyze alerts, detect anomalies across complex digital environments, and accelerate investigations. Organizations that integrate AI and automation into security operations report faster breach detection and containment along with lower breach costs.
The result is a cybersecurity environment where both attackers and defenders are operating at dramatically higher speed.
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the foundations of the digital economy,” said Francois Guay, Founder and CEO of the Canadian Cybersecurity Network. “The question is no longer whether AI will change cybersecurity. It already has. The real challenge is whether organizations can govern these systems safely and responsibly.”
The report highlights a shift taking place inside organizations. As AI systems move from experimentation into operational decision making, leadership teams must move beyond managing technology toward governing increasingly autonomous systems operating at machine speed.
Cybersecurity is also becoming closely tied to economic competitiveness. Enterprises, insurers, regulators, and supply chain partners increasingly require organizations to demonstrate credible cybersecurity practices before allowing them to connect systems, exchange data, or participate in critical operations.
In this environment, digital trust is becoming a defining competitive advantage.
“Cyber maturity is rapidly becoming a passport to participate in the digital economy,” Guay said. “Organizations that can demonstrate strong governance and secure use of AI will be better positioned to innovate, collaborate, and compete globally.”
The report also warns that rapid AI adoption is introducing new categories of cyber risk including prompt injection, model manipulation, data poisoning, and dependencies on external AI models.
For Canada, the report concludes that this moment presents both opportunity and urgency. Canada has a globally recognized AI research ecosystem, a strong cybersecurity talent base, and a tradition of collaboration between government, academia, and industry.
“In the emerging digital economy, competitive advantage will not be defined only by innovation,” Guay said. “It will be defined by trust.”
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