In February 2024, Hamilton was hit by a devastating cyberattack. Nearly 80% of the city’s digital systems were locked down overnight, and the hackers demanded an $18.5 million ransom. What made headlines? Hamilton Cyberattack: Insurance Didn’t Help. When the city looked to its cyber insurance, they were left on their own to pay the $18.3 million recovery bill because the insurer said Hamilton failed to meet key policy requirements.
How the Breach Happened
- Unsecured Server: Hackers accessed the city’s network through an internet-facing server with no extra protection.
- Missing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Departments ignored warnings, skipping vital MFA safeguards required by insurance.
- Rapid Spread: Once inside, hackers quickly locked down core city services before staff could react.
Why Insurance Refused To Pay
- Policy Exclusion: Insurance coverage depended on having MFA in place. Despite warnings in 2022, Hamilton didn’t finish implementing MFA before the attack. Insurance cited this as grounds to deny the claim.
- Lack of Security Controls: Experts and city officials agreed: incomplete cyber hygiene, outdated systems, and poor adoption of basic requirements allowed the breach—and invalidated insurance protection.
The result: Hamilton taxpayers are left with the full cost and months of disruption.
Secur-IT Data Solutions: Real Protection
Don’t become the next Hamilton. At Secur-IT Data Solutions, we:
- Audit your IT to spot and close security gaps.
- Monitor threats 24/7, powered by intelligent AI.
- Train your team—including decision makers—on cyber awareness.
- Keep meticulous records so your insurance protection is valid.
- Ensure compliance with all policy requirements, like MFA.
- Provide backup solutions, so your data can’t be held hostage.
Hamilton Cyberattack: Insurance Didn’t Help.
Let us help you stay secure—and covered.
Key Resources & Links
- Hamilton Cybersecurity Incident: Official City Summary
- CBC: Insurance denial due to missing multi-factor authentication
- Global News: Full attack and claim details
- Specops: Technical breakdown of how attack and denial unfolded
- CTV: Full cost and city staff response
- CBC: Report on system impacts and service disruptions
Krikor Tengerian is the CEO and founder of Secur-IT Data Solutions, a Toronto-based cybersecurity firm focused on helping Canadian organizations secure their infrastructure and critical systems. With over 25 years of experience across cybersecurity and IT infrastructure, he has supported organizations in hardening networks, protecting critical workloads, and aligning security controls with business and regulatory requirements.
Krikor actively shapes the direction and themes of Secur-IT’s educational content, collaborating with AI tools to structure, refine, and expand articles while providing the real-world context, use cases, and review to keep them accurate and practical for readers. He regularly shares insights on OT security, threat detection, incident response, and Canadian cybersecurity compliance to help industrial and commercial organizations better understand and reduce their cyber risk.