This is the first time the county has purchased a policy that would cover compromised data. Local governments collect and store large amounts of personal data in the course of their daily work, leaving troves of sensitive data open to attack if they are not properly protected.
John Sestak, the county’s IT director, told commissioners Monday that he recommended adding the cyber policy to the county’s existing liability coverage.
“In case of an attack or a breach of our data, it helps us bring in resources to correct the problem, research the cause of the problem,” Sestak said. “And if there is personal data that was stolen, basically it helps us identify whose information was leaked and provide those people with identity protection.”
“It’s high time we get that done,” County Judge Ben Zeller said. “We can be thankful we haven’t been targeted thus far.”
The premium for the new policy is about $4,700 a year.
Commissioners approved a contract, including the new cybersecurity policy, with Frost Insurance Agency and also approved a stop loss insurance contract with Great Midwest Insurance Company.
©2018 Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
