Cyber attacks happen in a variety of ways and in a variety of settings. A recent cyber breach at a Florida city's water treatment plant should serve as a reminder that industrial control systems' security should be a high priority in your overall cyber security model. A disruption due to a breach in one of these systems can not only be costly, it could also be harmful and dangerous to citizens. Phishing, credential theft, unsecured/open network ports, and remote desktop protocol compromise are all possible attack methods. Awareness and training for your employees on how to identify a phishing attempt is important. Network security is critical as well: up to date patching, network segmentation with limited user access, network monitoring, multi-factor authentication, and password hardening are all considered best practices. You should regularly test fail-safes and other alarm mechanisms, and ensure that employees know how to respond to an event. Click here for more information on this story: https://www.today.com/video/hacker-attempts-to-poison-water-supply-of-florida-town-100737093615?playlist=mmlstodayarchivestuesday-nnd.

In addition, ensure you have adequate cyber liability coverage and cyber breach  services that will respond in the event of a cyber attack. Fortunately for Risk Pool members, cyber liability coverage and related resources are included if you have property or liability coverage with the Pool. It’s one of the many benefits of partnering with the Pool. Reach out to your Member Services Manager for more information about cyber liability coverage and training resources to help prevent and mitigate attacks.