In February 2024, ransomware disabled most of the City of Hamilton, Ontario's network. The attackers demanded about $18.5 million and the city did not pay. In 2025 the city told councillors it had spent $18.3 million on response and recovery, and that its insurer would not pay about $5 million of the claim because multifactor authentication was not fully in place. Vivian lays out the record; Silas argues the insurer was right; Daniel argues the real failure was that nobody owned the promise on the form.
Every fact comes from the City of Hamilton or from named news reporting. The insurer has not been named by any source and is not named here. The three dollar figures are kept apart on air. Nothing here is legal or insurance advice.
In this episode
- The record: what Hamilton, Global News, CHCH and CBC reported about the February 2024 attack, the ransom demand the city did not pay, and the recovery cost to date
- Three numbers that headlines blur: about $18.5 million demanded, about $18.3 million spent to date, about $5 million of the insurance claim denied
- Why the insurer denied the claim, and what the city said about when it was asked for MFA and when it began rolling it out
- Silas: the insurer was right. Daniel: “fully implemented” is a cliff edge, and nobody owned the sentence on the form
- Why MFA is a list of accounts, not a switch
- Five things to do this week, starting with reading your insurance application’s MFA answer aloud with your IT provider in the room
About the show
All Eyes takes one question the industry is arguing about, puts two people who genuinely disagree in a room, and does not let either off easy. Hosted by Vivian Calloway, with Daniel Ramos and Silas Wray, who argues the other side for a living. New episodes most Tuesdays.
🔊 This podcast uses AI-generated voices. Every voice you hear is AI-generated, including the host. Daniel Ramos's voice is his own, cloned with his written consent. We disclose this at the start and end of every episode. Read exactly how we use AI →
Sources cited on air
- Global News — Hamilton cyberattack cost (July 31, 2025), reporting the city’s figures and council statements
- CHCH News — Councillors seek answers after Hamilton denied insurance claim for 2024 cyberattack (July 31, 2025)
- CBC News — Insurance won’t cover $5M in City of Hamilton claims for cyberattack, citing lack of log-in security
- CTV News / CP24 — Hamilton taxpayers on the hook for full $18.3M cyberattack repair bill after insurance claim denied