West Cook News

The Westchester board recently adopted an additional cyber security insurance coverage policy.

During a Nov. 22 village board meeting, the board discussed a new cyber security and insurance program for the village. The head of technology discussed the importance of increased cyber security in municipalities, with several in the state having faced cyber attacks this year, including the village. The village has faced three attacks, with no information or finances being lost and each being fended off successfully.

The village board voted on an additional protection package beyond the normal insurance put on their technology department. Even though there are significantly increased costs in the cyber world in the past few years, the village has funds set aside for the department because they have also been planning to implement new systems across the village for better communication and use of data and resources.

"And also to add on that, just to explain, there have been funds placed aside to reduce our cyber risks. We were intending on implementing an entirely new system over in the new building. Those systems would work together, police and the remainder of the village," Westchester City Manager Greg Hribal said. 

The village’s current coverage expires on the last day of November, and this new policy would begin on Dec. 1. It requires additional security measures to be implemented in the village systems, including multi-factor authentication. The policy has a $1 million limit on it, which will more than cover any equipment in the village’s possession.