In the early hours of April 30, the Town of Wasaga Beach, Ont. was hit by a ransomware attack that locked all the files on the town’s network, including back-up servers located off site.
While the town was still able to deliver services to its residents, the hackers had demanded it pay a ransom. In the end, the town decided to pay the ransom in order to resolve the situation and regain access to the data.
That incident, and another hack on the Town of Midland a few months later, prompted local representatives in Prince Township – located on the outskirts of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – to consider purchasing cyber insurance as a means of protection in the event that the town fell victim to hackers.
As more organizations look to protect themselves from breaches, the cyber insurance market has substantial potential for growth, according to a recent report by RBC Capital Markets. The authors of the report estimate that the size of the industry could reach between $8 billion and $9 billion by 2020.
According to the report, released October 31, demand for cyber insurance is expected to increase significantly over the coming years due to a variety of factors, including the increasing…
