Blog
July 31, 2026
Cryptocurrency Investment Scams
Investment scams continue to make the news with people reportedly losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to a fake “Mark Carney” AI deepfake cryptocurrency investment. We’ve heard directly from several investment advisors whose clients have been calling to ask whether these opportunities are legitimate.
Banks are trying to respond. I recently went to my bank to send a wire transfer and felt like I was boarding an international flight. I was asked who I was sending the money to, whether anyone had instructed me to send it, how I obtained the banking information, whether I had ever met the person in real life, and several other questions. It was clear they were looking for the warning signs of fraud and romance scams before the money left my account.
We all need to do out part. As I’ve said before, check in on your loved ones, particularly those who may be more vulnerable. These scams are affecting people from all walks of life, and by the time family members discover what’s happened, the money is often gone.
Salsa on St Clair Shooting
The shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair festival hit particularly close to home. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the first responders.
One of the first things we do after a security incident is identify the point of failure, if there is one. Then we can recommend measures that are likely to reduce the risk of it happening again.
From what we know so far, stricter bail conditions may have kept at least one of the accused off the street. Stronger enforcement against illegal firearms entering Canada may have kept a gun out of their hands. A greater security / police presence is likely not economically viable, and it’s simply not realistic to screen 13,000 people through metal detectors at a neighbourhood street festival.
The reality is that it’s very difficult to stop two determined individuals from bringing firearms to a publicly accessible event. It reminded me of the shooting at the Raptors championship parade in 2019. This is part of the risk we accept when we put on public events. However, as we learn more we may discover there are things we can and should do to make our communities safer. If we want to preserve community festivals, we also need to support the practical security measures required to make them as safe as reasonably possible.
Insider threats aren’t always espionage
The recent arrest of a Natural Resources Canada employee accused of downloading sensitive government documents has obvious national security implications.
According to media reports, CSIS had briefed the department several times over the past two decades regarding concerns about the individual, and investigators allege he attempted to move files to a personal account while in China.
Most organizations won’t encounter state-sponsored espionage. They will, however, encounter employees who download contact lists, reports, templates, presentations, or other intellectual property before they leave for a new employer or start their own business.
People often don’t see this as theft. They justify it by saying they helped create the documents or that they’ll only use them as a reference. We recently saw this issue play out in the dispute between the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks over scouting reports that were allegedly taken by a departing coach. The argument was that he had created the reports. But in most organizations, work created during employment belongs to the employer, not the individual.
Whether the motivation is convenience, personal gain, or something far more serious, organizations should treat the unauthorized removal of information as an insider threat and have controls in place to detect and prevent it.