NDP calls for greater accountability in wake of Nova Scotia Power cyberattack

There are concerns customers could be on the hook to pay for the recent Nova Scotia Power cyberattack.

Nova Scotia Power may have weathered the cyberattack that compromised its systems, but the political and financial fallout continues, along with calls for accountability.

At the legislature’s public accounts committee on Wednesday, NDP Leader Claudia Chender criticized the utility for what she described as a failure to protect Nova Scotians.

“Legally, Nova Scotia Power is the victim, but actually it’s Nova Scotians who are suffering harm,” Chender said.

The utility’s president and CEO Peter Gregg confirmed that while the company has cyber insurance, there is still no estimate of the total cost to repair and restore its systems.

“We do not have an estimate of the full cost of restoration at this point,” Gregg said. “That is an ongoing part of our investigation.”

That uncertainty raises the possibility that ratepayers could bear some of the cost. Chender and others said that should not be the case.

Insurance industry experts say demand for cyber insurance is rising across Canada, and when large-scale claims are filed, premiums tend to rise.

“All sorts of things could impact what your premiums look like going forward,” said Amanda Dean, vice-president of Ontario and Atlantic at the Insurance Bureau of Canada. “Especially the claims for the pool you’re paying your premium into.”

Chender argued that existing legislation doesn’t go far enough to protect consumers after such breaches. She said the NDP plans to introduce legislation that would enable class-action lawsuits in Nova Scotia, similar to legislation already in place in British Columbia.

“That way, an organization like Nova Scotia Power can actually be held liable for this kind of breach, which right now is very difficult to do,” she said.

Chender also said the utility’s offer of two years of free credit monitoring for affected customers is inadequate.

“They should be offering five,” she said. “There should be the ability to have a free credit freeze.”

Nova Scotia Power said it’s continuing to investigate the data breach, along with provincial officials and the federal privacy commissioner.

The province’s auditor general may also get involved, though any potential audit is still in the early stages.

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