City Manager John Collin is putting to rest social media rumours surrounding the ransomware attack on the city’s network in November. Collin says no ransom has been paid. Meantime – a police investigation into the attack continues.
Collin says the city is moving forward with building a completely new I-T network to ensure no traces of the malware remain when service is fully restored – and – to take advantage of new networking technology and security. He says the ongoing effort should be complete by May.
The city has a comprehensive insurance policy to cover cyber events like this – however – it will only cover restoring the network to its previous level. However – Collin says there is a significant I-T reserve fund that will cover off any deductibles and additional costs with no impact on the current budget. A full report on costs will be presented to council once the project is complete.
Meantime – the city’s insurer is waiting for those costs to be determined before assessing a final premium for its cyber coverage. The city’s coverage has been extended to the end of March at a cost of $4300. Last year’s premium for the coverage was just under $21,000.
