The town of Webster, NY has announced it lost more than $520,000 in a phishing attack in November, but says local police have recovered $300,000 of the stolen money and its cyber insurer is expected to cover another $240,000 under the town’s cyber insurance for government.
The incident has been described as a phishing attack, but references to the hackers posing as a city contractor make us wonder if this was not also a “false instruction” attack in which a hacker tricks the employee of the target into sending money. Media reports indicate the attack occured in November, was not uncovered by Webster officials for almost two weeks and was not reported to the public until Jan. 9th, 2025. The upstate town claims the incident was not divulged for so long to avoid harming police investigations, now underway by the Webster Police Department and FBI.
Managers of the town, on the shore of Lake Ontario, appear to be heaving a sigh of relief that they have cyber insurance. “In 2024, the Town purchased cyber insurance to respond to such threats,” Webster Town Supervisor Tom Flaherty wrote.
The carrier, costs and terms of the government cyber insurance purchased by Webster have not been released. But the town did post an undated document justifying the purchase and providing some of its benefits.
