Cities have historically been prime targets for hackers due to their reliance on dated IT systems and insufficient backups, said Michael Waters, a shareholder at Polsinelli. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Recently, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution discouraging cities from paying ransoms to hackers that have taken their systems captive. The underlying logic is pretty straightforward: if bad actors realize that there's no longer any cash waiting for them at the end of the rainbow, they'll eventually pack up their ball and go home.
Still, talk is cheap, and the infrastructure that cities need to deploy in order to prevent their systems from being held hostage in the first place is not. Without a substantive investment in talent and security solutions, a pact such as the one announced by the Conference of Mayors might not endure the slew of challenges it's sure to face.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Frank Ready
Frank Ready is a reporter on the tech desk at ALM Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
