Communities Must Address Cybersecurity

As NH cities and towns continue to bring more services online, such as permit applications, paying taxes and water bills, new and emerging cyber threats loom large.

Primex in Concord, an insurance company representing many of the states’ municipalities, is focusing on cybersecurity to help cities and town manage and mitigate security risks.

“In recent years cyber threats have given rise to claims,” says David Witham, director of risk management at Primex. “We are engaging on the front lines to help our members reduce the risk from a cybersecurity breach.”

Witham says one of the biggest threats is ransomware, when a town’s online information is stolen and the town has to pay to release the data. “It’s an emerging threat, and a number of communities have been hit and claims are trending up,” says Witham. “Five years ago, we never saw these, but now claims are on the rise and the severity associated with those claims is increasing.”

Witham says there are two measures of risk: frequency and severity, which help determine how much protection is needed.

“It is not our number one threat to local government, but when you look at the cost to rebuild systems, install improved security, the severity of the threat is getting our attention,” he says.

New Hampshire municipalities are at various levels when it comes to the ability to protect data. Cities may have IT professionals on staff, but smaller cities and towns may not have anyone dedicated to the task and may even outsource their IT to a third party. “Everybody is doing their best, but it’s not just about firewalls anymore, it’s about analyzing risk and training staff properly,” says Witham.

He says hacking attempts are on the rise. “Are we going to prevent it? No. It’s called risk management not risk elimination. But the right education and training can reduce the severity of a breach and make a town better prepared to respond.”