Last week, TELUS released the results of the 2010 TELUS/Rotman Study on Canadian IT Security Practices during a media announcement at TELUS House Toronto.  In its third year, the survey reflects responses from 523 Canadian business owners, managers and executives, nationwide.  Although the event was hosted in Toronto, media and influencers from across the country were able to partake live via webcast.  

Here are a few of the key findings:

 1.  Canadian security breaches rose 29 per cent while breach costs decreased by 78 per cent.  Private and public sectors experienced a minimal increase in security breaches; government reported a significant breach increase of 74 per cent.

 What does this mean?  Increased IT investment has led to greater visibility and earlier detection of these breaches, ultimately lowering clean-up costs.  The study also reveals a growing trend toward sophisticated attacks on high value data such as identity information and credit card numbers. What this says to businesses is that it’s crucial to take a proactive approach in securing data and implementing employee education to maintain security, as we see a continued increase of more intelligent attacks.

 2. This year’s results uncover a misconception:  One in four Canadian organizations are blocking access to social networking sites, citing security as the primary reason. Today, 66 per cent of employees in the government sector have access to social networking in the workplace, as do close to 80 per cent of private and public sector employees. 

 What does this mean? In both cases, organizations that block access to these sites actually bring productivity and security issues upon themselves as employees spend valuable time trying to circumvent the block or surf the sites through their mobile devices.  As technological innovations continue to develop, from social networking to the proliferation of smartphones, there needs to be an increased focus on education and awareness across IT, development and employees to ensure security risks and responsibilities are understood.

But perhaps the most exciting result of these 2010 findings is the interest shown by both business and consumer media. We’re looking forward to next year’s results!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World took Toronto by storm last week! Writer and Director Edgar Wright joined creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and Canadian actress Ellen Wong (a.k.a. Knives Chau) to celebrate the release of the genre-breaking cult hit by giving fans an EPIC experience in the original setting and filming location of Toronto.

With a whirlwind two day media tour packed with media interviews with kick-ass outlets like , The George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight Show, CP24 Breakfast, SUN Media and Metro, a fan signing at the HMV in Yonge & Dundas Square, and a FREE fan screening at the Bloor Cinema for more than 800 fans, it was undeniably an epic affair!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment Canada.

Kinect for Xbox 360 became available for Canadians to purchase at 12 a.m. today, and High Road was on hand last night to host some pretty excited people who were definitely ready to play.

Consumers – hungry to be one of the first to get their hands on the console that lets you be the controller – lined up at Dundas Square in Toronto to be part of the launch that included stations for trying out games like Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and Dance Central. Media watched from a glass box overlooking the square while pyrotechnics were fired off to let folks know Kinect is here!

Meanwhile, down the street at the Xbox Kinect Experience Centre, over 200 media and VIPs busted moves and mingled with the elite at our private party. We welcomed folks like George Stroumboulopoulos, Jully Black, Kardinal Offishall, and Stephen Wong, and watched So You Think You Can Dance’s Blake McGrath and Mia Michaels join forces on Dance Central.

People were playing in Montreal and Vancouver, too. More than 200 media and VIPs had a great time playing with the Kinect and dancing to the beats of DJ Killa Jewel at La Mouche in Montreal.

In Vancouver, the Kinect launch shut down the street at Best Buy’s Cambie store to feature America’s Best Dance Crew’s season five finalists, Blueprint Cru. Additionally, among media and VIPs, which included Vancouver’s own BigPark the developers of Joyride, were more than 150 fans eager to get their hands on Kinect when the doors opened at midnight. 

You can still visit the Xbox Kinect Experience Centre to play until December 1 at 207 Yonge St. in Toronto and Complexe Les Ailes, Metro Level (677 Ste-Catherine W.) in Montreal.