Cyberattack Costs Ontario City $18.3 Million After Insurance Claim Denied

The City of Hamilton has spent $18.3 million responding to a cybersecurity attack that took place last year, which the city is now facing in full after its insurance provider has denied its claim.

The city filed a cyber insurance claim. However, its insurance provider denied the claim citing policy exclusions, as multi-factor authentication had not been fully implemented by the city at the time of the incident, the city’s Cybersecurity Incident Summary report says. The policy did not provide coverage for any losses as a result of not having multi-factor authentication in place.