Automated AI cyberattacks are coming for your data. How can Managed Extended Detection and Response keep Canadian insurers safe?
Explore the new era of AI-driven cyber risks and discover how MXDR offers continuous protection, rapid response, and adaptive defence at a lower cost.
Key takeaways
- Traditional cybersecurity approaches can’t keep up with AI-driven cyberattacks and AI-generated malware.
- For Canadian insurers, increasing digitization and the need to hold customers’ personal, financial, and health information make them prime targets for sophisticated AI-enabled breaches.
- MXDR lowers costs and delivers rapid, advanced protection powered by AI with 24x7x365 cyber threat hunting, detection, response, and remediation capabilities.
The end of 2025 marked a significant milestone in the cybersecurity threat landscape: major autonomous cyberattacks demonstrated that AI-driven attacks are now a reality.
Anthropic reported that in September 2025, threat actors used its model Claude Code to automate 80–90% of a cyber operation, including reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, credential theft, and data exfiltration across approximately 30 global targets, with minimal human intervention.1
Google also discovered AI-generated malware called PROMPTFLUX, which uses AI to write source code to evade detection and is able to rewrite its code hourly.2 This is just one of several instances of LLM-powered malware that have been detected by Google.
These attacks show that AI is no longer just a tool for cyberattacks, but can function as the attacker itself. Tasks that once required expert hackers days or weeks to accomplish can be completed by AI in mere hours.3
Insurers are prime targets for these attacks due to the personal, financial, and health data that hackers seek to exploit. The attack surface continues to grow as digitization increases and third-party solutions become more integrated. Deloitte’s 2026 global insurance outlook outlines the situation: “Ironically, the same drivers energizing the industry, including cloud infrastructure, API connectivity, IoT devices, and AI, also widen the attack surface.”4
Major insurers in the United States have recently been targeted in a string of sophisticated cyberattacks that exposed sensitive patient information.5 According to a leading industry survey, the average cost to recover from a ransomware attack—excluding any ransom paid—was $1.53 million USD (approximately $2.1 million CAD) in 2025.6
In this new age of AI-powered cyber threats, Canadian insurers need to respond with equally advanced defences. Deloitte’s Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR), can help you strengthen your cybersecurity posture.
“MXDR provides stronger coverage, faster detection and disposition—all at a total cost of ownership (TCO) that’s 10% to 30% lower.” — Hiba Abdou, Partner, Insurance Sector, Deloitte
The new AI-enabled threat landscape
Cybersecurity and protection against ransomware have long been top-of-mind for Canadian insurers. So what makes the current AI-enabled threat landscape different?
Here are three key concerns.
1. AI supercharges cyberattacks and opens the door to more threat actors.
- Enables less-skilled threat actors to perform sophisticated attacks previously limited to highly experienced hackers.
- Employs techniques like role-playing and jailbreaking prompts to bypass safeguards.
- Increases the volume, frequency, and sophistication of attacks, overwhelming traditional, human-scale security operations.
2. Traditional security isn’t prepared for autonomous AI attackers
- Legacy defences cannot detect or respond to AI autonomously coordinating thousands of operations per second.
- AI‑powered intrusions will become more effective as models grow more capable and guardrails become more complex.
- With legacy defences, the time to detect and remediate is measured in hours, whereas with MXDR that measure is in seconds.
3. Sophisticated AI agents and nation states fuel complex cyber threats
- AI-driven attacks represent a fundamental departure from traditional threat patterns.
- AI agents can conduct long-running, autonomous, and distributed operations.
- Nation-state actors are orchestrating sophisticated AI-powered cyber espionage campaigns.7 They possess significant resources, advanced social engineering tools, and long-term strategic objectives, making AI-enabled threats more complex and geopolitically motivated.
Why MXDR is essential for Canadian insurers
As digitization accelerates and AI threats continue to evolve, Canadian insurers face unprecedented cybersecurity challenges.
“With the integration of MXDR, we have effectively improved the capabilities and the agility to scale securely as our business grows. Our enhanced visibility into perimeter security empowers us to swiftly detect and address cyber incidents, significantly reducing risks to our organization.” — Jimmy Don, VP Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer, People Corporation
Here’s why MXDR is now critical:
AI-Enabled Threats: Modern cyberattacks are faster, more sophisticated, and constantly evolving. Traditional defences can’t keep up.
Expanding Attack Surface: Ongoing digital transformation in the industry means more systems and data are exposed to potential threats.
Talent Shortage: Skilled cybersecurity professionals are in short supply both globally and within Canada, making it difficult for insurers to build robust internal teams.
Cost-Effective Expertise: MXDR offers advanced intelligence, automation, and specialized skills at a lower total cost of ownership (TCO): typically 10%–30% less than legacy approaches.
Proactive Defence and Fast Response: MXDR enables insurers to stay ahead of emerging threats and adapt to new adversaries and enables near instantaneous detection.
Direct comparison: traditional approaches vs. MXDR
“By partnering with Deloitte as our trusted security provider, which brings a combination of strong local expertise with global capabilities, we have fortified our security posture and instilled greater confidence amongst our customers.” — Jimmy Don, VP Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer, People Corporation
How Deloitte’s MXDR can help
Deloitte’s MXDR brings together advanced AI-powered detection, global threat intelligence, and expert-led response capabilities to help you meet today’s challenges.
Here are your next steps.
- Schedule a Cyber Defence Assessment: Contact Deloitte to evaluate your organization’s security posture and identify areas for improvement.
- Explore MXDR Solutions: Discover how Deloitte’s MXDR offerings can enhance or transform your current security operations.
- Proactively Defend Against AI-Driven Threats: Partner with Deloitte to stay ahead of emerging risks and protect your organization with cutting-edge security solutions.
Take action today to strengthen your cyber defences and safeguard your business.
