Burlington, Ontario and Port Coquitlam, B.C. hot spots for cybercrime: study

Burlington, Ontario and Port Coquitlam, B.C. rank highest among Canadian cities most vulnerable to cybercrime, according to a study by Norton from Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) and independent research firm Sperling’s BestPlaces.
“While bigger cities such as Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto often top the list in crime reports, Burlington, Ontario placed first in the rankings to claim the title of the riskiest online city,” according to Norton.
“This economic hub and one of the province’s fastest growing municipalities ranked at or near the top in categories such as cybercrimes, consumer expenditures on computer hardware and software and Internet access.”
Two smaller cities in B.C., Port Coquitlam and Langley, trailed just behind Burlington, scoring highly in the cybercrimes category as well.
The survey suggests living in a large city does not, in and of itself, necessarily magnify the exposure to identity theft and cybercrime.
“This study is a real eye-opener, demonstrating that larger urban centres such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, which have a diverse mix of high- and low-income communities, don’t necessarily have the same level of Internet access as do wealthier suburbs like Burlington, Oakville and Kelowna,” said Lynn Hargrove, director of consumer solutions at Symantec Canada.
“Residents in areas with more access to computers, the Internet and WiFi hotspots will go online more often to shop, bank and communicate with family and friends, making them greater targets for cybercriminals.”
The rankings were determined through a combination of Symantec Security Response’s data on cyber-attacks and potential malware infections, as well as third-party data about online behavior such as Internet accessibility and WiFi hotspots.
The following are ranked the Norton Top 10 Riskiest Online Canadian Cities:
    1.  Burlington, ON
    2.  Port Coquitlam, BC
    3.  Langley, BC
    4.  Vancouver, BC
    5.  Calgary, AB
    6.  Oakville, ON
    7.  Markham, ON
    8.  Toronto, ON
    9.  Kelowna, BC
    10. Kitchener, ON