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January 09, 2023 - 4:53 PM
Vernon council has agreed to spend $37,000 a year on cyber insurance.
Council voted unanimously in support of the expenditure that will see the city covered for up to $2,000,000 in the event its computer system is hacked.
At its Jan. 9 meeting, a city staffer told council the number of municipalities that had received cyber attacks was "staggering."
While he didn't name names, the staffer said a cyber attack on a small town in Alberta with a population of 10,000 people cost $650,000. Another cyber attack in a B.C. city roughly twice the size of Vernon cost its taxpayers $2.9 million.
In 2020, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen was hit with an attempted ransomware attack which affected its computer system for months afterwards. At the time, the regional district said it had firewalls, password protection, ransomware software and encrypted hard drive all in place.
Vernon's yearly $37,250 insurance premium will give it up to $2 million in liability with a maximum deductible of $50,000.
Council heard how it was very difficult to obtain insurance against cyber attacks but the B.C. Municipal Insurance Association of B.C. provided the coverage.
READ MORE: Cyber security 'has to be a part of our DNA' after attack on RDOS last summer
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