Columbus purchases cybersecurity insurance

Columbus is buying an insurance policy to protect city computers from data breaches or hackers who threaten to hold the city’s data hostage while demanding a ransom.

City Board of Works members Tuesday approved a contract for a year’s worth of cybersecurity insurance from Axis Surplus Insurance Co., Chicago, Illinois.

The contract, for $8,165.15, provides $1 million worth of cybersecurity protection in the event hackers gain access to the city’s computers or try to demand a ransom for return of the city’s data, said Jamie Brinegar, the city’s finance director.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.