ALBANY — The increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks is translating into higher insurance costs for New York’s local governments trying to protect their networks from breaches and ransomware.

Such attacks can have a devastating financial impact on county governments and potentially compromise confidential data on individuals and businesses that have transacted business with local agencies.

“We’ve been seeing the cost of cyber insurance increase for years now, but this year it went to a whole new level,” said Michael Zurlo, president of the New York State Association of Counties and the Clinton County administrator.

It’s a kind of insurance local governments can’t be without, Zurlo said.

“The world is run by computers now and so most of our information is electronic,” he said from his office in Plattsburgh.

This year, Clinton County paid some $48,000 for its cyber coverage, he said. The estimated premium for the coming year is $72,000 — a jump of 50%, Zurlo said

In Cooperstown, the Otsego County Board of Representatives, with its agencies having been hit by cyber attacks, has opted to spend some $1.8 million for a comprehensive update of its computer systems, said Brian Pokorny, who oversees information technology for the county government.

“I have to give credit to the county board for understanding just how serious of an issue this is,” Pokorny said.

County government leaders point to a major security breach attacking Suffolk County’s computer networks last month as an example of the nightmares that result when electronic data flows to an unauthorized party.

That breach has led to millions of dollars in unanticipated costs to county vendors, slowed the processing of real estate titles and caused some county staffers to communicate via old-fashioned pen and paper.

Two years ago, similar turmoil befell Chenango County’s government, when a ransomware attack left numerous computer users locked out of the network.

“Every day, people with a lot more resources than us are trying to hack in,” said David Bliss, chairman of the Otsego County Board of Representatives “It’s a constant battle.”

He said his county, as with many local governments, gets its cyber insurance through the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, a regulated insurer owned by some 900 municipalities across the state.

According to the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, a trade association for the commercial insurance industry, cyber insurance premiums have been rising amid increased awareness of the threats posed by cyber attacks, not only against government agencies but targeting private businesses as well.

In the first quarter of this year, the cyber premiums were running 28% more than they did in the fourth quarter of 2021, the council reported.

Ransomware, according to the New York State Association of Counties, is involved in the overwhelming majority of cyber insurance claims.

Last year, average ransom payments sent to attackers following such breaches exceeded $800,000.

“Insurance experts deem municipalities as a high cybersecurity risk right now, which is why it’s important for municipal leaders to begin strengthening their cybersecurity efforts,” NYSAC warned in its report.

The report’s release coincides with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

The association has also been advising county government leaders and staffers about the availability of a national, 12-week online training program aimed at providing information about business continuity and effective responses during cyber attacks.

Pokorny said it’s crucial for local governments to have the information technology defenses that can prevent the kind of attack that paralyzed Suffolk County’s government.

“We hold a lot of sensitive information, and so we want to make sure that it doesn’t get out to the wrong people,” he said. “And we want to make sure we are securing the taxpayers’ funds so that the bad guys can’t get to it.”