Canada has been bombarded by an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks this year, with security firm Fortinet reporting more than 12 billion malicious attempts in just the first six months of 2025.

From its Burnaby campus, one of Fortinet’s largest global hubs, hundreds of cybersecurity analysts work around the clock to track, block, and investigate threats. The company says cybercriminals are evolving rapidly, and in many cases, they no longer even need to write their code.

“We’re on the dark web every day, we’re threat-hunting, we’re creating those protections,” said Derek Manky, Fortinet’s chief security strategist, in an interaction with CTVNews. “The business model now is crime-as-a-service, and it’s making criminals faster and more sophisticated.”


The crime-as-a-service model would allow hackers to buy ready-made ransomware or data theft tools online, enabling attacks at scale. Manufacturers have been the top targets so far this year, followed closely by health-care providers and critical infrastructure sectors once considered off-limits by many hackers.

“When you have more affiliates working for you, everyone has a different mentality,” Manky said. “The ethics start to go out the window, and it becomes more competitive.”

AI on the frontlines

The flood of attacks has left cybersecurity teams drowning in alerts. Fortinet says artificial intelligence is now essential for triaging threats, automating routine work, and flagging the most urgent cases.

“It’s avoiding analyst burnout and allowing cybersecurity professionals to get new skills and embrace the technology,” Manky said.

The company’s latest threat report also highlights a spike in automated scans targeting industrial control systems and Internet-of-Things devices, along with a surge in stolen credentials being sold on underground forums.

Founded in 2000, Fortinet’s Burnaby facility now serves as a research, product development, and training hub, linking more than 500 threat researchers worldwide. Collectively, they analyze millions of events every minute, blocking the vast majority before they ever reach their intended targets.