Cyber Centre releases Ransomware Threat Outlook 2025 to 2027

Summary

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre), part of the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), published its Ransomware Threat Outlook 2025 to 2027 on 28 January 2026. The report outlines how ransomware has become a sophisticated, interconnected ecosystem that continues to evolve rapidly, driven in part by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

The document reviews ransomware’s history, emerging and projected trends, impacts on Canada and Canadian organisations, and dispels common misconceptions. It stresses that attacks will remain a significant threat over the next two years and highlights practical mitigations and the Cyber Centre’s support services, including guidance resources and a pre-ransomware notification initiative that issued 336 alerts in 2024 — helping over 300 organisations and potentially saving up to $18 million.

Key Points

Ransomware is a growing, fast-evolving threat; all Canadian organisations are at risk and actors are opportunistic and financially motivated.
Threat actors are adopting new technologies (AI, cryptocurrency) and novel extortion tactics to scale operations and increase profits.
Basic cyber hygiene — regular software updates, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and vigilance against phishing — remains highly effective at reducing risk.
Cross-sector collaboration (law enforcement, government, industry and the public) is essential to combat and mitigate ransomware.
The Cyber Centre’s pre-ransomware notifications in 2024 provided early warnings to 300+ organisations and are credited with substantial economic savings.
Victims should report incidents to local authorities, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the Cyber Centre (via My Cyber Portal or contact@cyber.gc.ca).

Context and relevance

This outlook is important for IT leaders, risk and security teams, operators of critical infrastructure and policy makers. It confirms a shift where ransomware is becoming cheaper, faster and harder to detect due to AI-driven tooling, making fundamentals (patching, MFA, phishing defences) strategic priorities. The report ties into national efforts to strengthen cyber resiliency and offers practical links to playbooks, guidance and reporting channels.

Why should I read this

Short and blunt: if you care about avoiding a costly outage or data theft, read it. The report cuts through the noise — explains how ransomware has changed, why AI makes it nastier, and which simple, effective steps actually reduce your risk. It’s a quick way to get practical priorities without wading through hype.