By Chad Ingram

Published July 20 2017

The internet brings with it various threats threats municipalities may want to protect themselves from through insurance.

At a June meeting Minden Hills councillors were visited by Meghan Callaghan of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc. who gave councillors an overview of the cyber liability insurance the company is now offering.
“Cyber liability is a fairly new insurance product” Callaghan said. “It’s trying to keep pace with our ever-changing world.”
Cyber crime against governments typically involves hacking and Callaghan pointed to international incidents of public sector breaches where sensitive information has been held ransom etc.
There are different types of cyber liability protection including from extortion corporate identity theft telephone hacking system damage and so on.
“They’re all not going to be a risk to you” Callaghan said. “That’s why we need to look at your operations.”

She explained what is referred to as the “Trojan scam” where hackers having gained access to a municipality’s system will pose as the reeve or chief administrative officer via email asking employees to transfer money. Those employees can then unwittingly become part of a fraud operation.
With cyber liability insurance municipalities can be reimbursed for any such fraudulent transfers.

“Municipalities certainly want to invest in preventative measures” said Councillor Jeanne Anthon. Anthon pointed out that under the two-tier system of Haliburton County its lower-tier municipalities are covered under the umbrella of the county.

“There will be a subsequent conversation at the county about overlap of liability” said Reeve Brent Devolin.