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  • NYDFS provides affiliate cybersecurity program guidance

    State Issues

    Recently, NYDFS issued an industry letter to regulated entities advising that a covered entity may adopt the cybersecurity program of an affiliate. New York’s Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) requires regulated entities (Covered Entities) to implement risk-based cybersecurity programs to protect their information systems as well as the nonpublic information maintained on them. (See continuing InfoBytes coverage on 23 NYCRR Part 500 here.) Specifically, 23 NYCRR Part 500 allows “Covered Entities to adopt ‘the relevant and applicable provisions’ of the cybersecurity program of an affiliate provided that such provisions satisfy the requirements of the Cybersecurity Regulation.” NYDFS is also permitted to fully examine the adopted portions of the affiliate’s cybersecurity program to ensure compliance, even if that affiliate is not covered or regulated by NYDFS otherwise. Covered Entities are reminded that while they may adopt an affiliate’s cybersecurity program in whole or in part, the Covered Entity may not delegate compliance responsibility to the affiliate, and is responsible for ensuring it cybersecurity program complies with 23 NYCRR Part 500, “regardless of whether its cybersecurity program is its own or was adopted in whole or in part from an affiliate.” Additionally, a Covered Entity’s compliance obligations are the same whether it adopts an affiliate’s cybersecurity program or implements its own cybersecurity program. Among other things, Covered Entities are required to provide, upon request, all “documentation and information” related to their cybersecurity programs, including evidence that an adopted affiliate’s cybersecurity program meets the requirements of 23 NYCRR Part 500. At a minimum, NYDFS requires access to an affiliate’s “cybersecurity policies and procedures, risk assessments, penetration testing and vulnerability assessment results, and any third party audits that relate to the adopted portions of the cybersecurity program of the affiliate.” NYDFS also explained that foreign bank branches and representative offices often have head offices located outside the U.S. that are not directly regulated by NYDFS. For these entities, all documentation and information relevant to the adopted portions of their head offices’ cybersecurity programs must be provided to NYDFS examiners to evaluate the Covered Entities’ compliance with 23 NYCRR Part 500.

    State Issues NYDFS Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security 23 NYCRR Part 500 State Regulators Bank Regulatory Affiliated Business Relationship Enforcement Of Interest to Non-US Persons

  • NYDFS, insurance company reach $1.8 million cyber breach settlement

    State Issues

    On May 13, NYDFS announced a settlement with an insurance company to resolve allegations that the broker violated the state’s cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) by failing to implement multi-factor authentication or reasonably equivalent or more secure access controls. Under Part 500.12(b), covered entities are required to implement such protocols (see FAQs here). NYDFS’s investigation also revealed that the insurance company falsely certified its compliance with the cybersecurity regulation for 2018. Under the terms of the consent order, the company will pay a $1.8 million civil monetary penalty and will undertake improvements to strengthen its existing cybersecurity program to ensure compliance with 23 NYCRR Part 500. NYDFS acknowledged the broker’s “commendable” cooperation throughout the examination and investigation and stated that the broker had demonstrated its commitment to remediation.

    State Issues NYDFS Enforcement 23 NYCRR Part 500 Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Insurance Bank Regulatory

  • NYDFS, insurance broker reach $3 million cyber breach settlement

    State Issues

    On April 14, NYDFS announced a settlement with an insurance broker to resolve allegations that the broker violated the state’s cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) by failing to report it was the subject of two cyber breaches between 2018 and 2020. Under Part 500.17, regulated entities are required to provide timely notice to NYDFS when a cybersecurity event involves harm to customers (see FAQs here). A September 2019 examination revealed that the cyber breaches involved unauthorized access to an employee’s email account, which could have provided access to personal data, including social security and bank account numbers. NYDFS also alleged that the broker failed to implement a multi-factor authentication as required by 23 NYCRR Part 500. Under the terms of the consent order, the broker will pay a $3 million civil monetary penalty and will make further improvements to strengthen its existing cybersecurity program to ensure compliance with 23 NYCRR Part 500. NYDFS acknowledged the broker’s “commendable” cooperation throughout the examination and investigation and stated that the broker had demonstrated its commitment to remediation.

    State Issues 23 NYCRR Part 500 NYDFS Settlement Enforcement Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Data Breach Bank Regulatory

  • NYDFS updates cybersecurity fraud alert

    State Issues

    On March 30, NYDFS issued an updated cybersecurity fraud alert that warns of other techniques used in a widespread cybercrime campaign targeting public-facing websites. As previously covered in InfoBytes, the update stems from NYDFS’ February 16 cybersecurity fraud alert sent to regulated entities, which described a “widespread cybercrime campaign” designed to steal nonpublic private consumer information (NPI) from public-facing websites and use the stolen NPI to fraudulently apply for pandemic and unemployment benefits. In addition to the techniques previously identified, NYDFS alerts regulated entities of the following additional hacking methods: (i) using web-debugging tools to steal unredacted, plaintext NPI while in transit from the data vendor to the company; and (ii) credential stuffing to gain access to insurance agent accounts and using those agent accounts to steal consumer NPI. To prevent sensitive data from being stolen from public-facing websites, NYDFS advises financial organizations to circumvent displaying prefilled NPI, even in redacted form, and to guarantee that all portals are being guarded by the “robust access controls required by [NYDFS]’s cybersecurity regulation.” The alert also outlines remediation steps that financial institutions should execute to guarantee basic security.

    State Issues NYDFS Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security State Regulators Data Breach 23 NYCRR Part 500 Covid-19 Bank Regulatory

  • NYDFS, mortgage lender reach $1.5 million cyber breach settlement

    State Issues

    On March 3, NYDFS announced a settlement with a mortgage lender to resolve allegations that the lender violated the state’s cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) by failing to report it was the subject of a cyber breach in 2019. Under Part 500.17, regulated entities are required to provide timely notice to NYDFS when a cybersecurity event involves harm to customers (see FAQs here). A July 2020 examination revealed that the cyber breach involved unauthorized access to an employee’s email account, which could have provided access to personal data, including social security and bank account numbers. NYDFS also claimed that the lender allegedly failed to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity risk assessment as required by 23 NYCRR Part 500. Under the terms of the consent order, the lender will pay a $1.5 million civil monetary penalty, and will make further improvements to strengthen its existing cybersecurity program to ensure compliance with 23 NYCRR Part 500. NYDFS acknowledged that the mortgage lender had controls in place at the time of the cyber incident and implemented additional controls since the incident. NYDFS also acknowledged the mortgage lender’s “commendable” cooperation throughout the examination and investigation and stated that the lender had demonstrated its commitment to remediation.

    State Issues State Regulators NYDFS Enforcement Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Settlement Mortgages Data Breach 23 NYCRR Part 500 Bank Regulatory

  • NYDFS announces cybersecurity fraud alert

    State Issues

    On February 16, NYDFS issued a cybersecurity fraud alert to regulated entities describing a “widespread cybercrime campaign” designed to steal nonpublic private consumer information (NPI) from public-facing websites and use the stolen NPI to fraudulently apply for pandemic and unemployment benefits. NYDFS states that it has received reports from several regulated entities of “successful or attempted data theft” from websites providing instant rate quotes such as auto insurance rates, noting that even if NPI is redacted, “hackers have shown that they are adept at stealing the full unredacted NPI.” NYDFS advises regulated entities to review security controls for public-facing websites that display or transmit NPI (even redacted NPI), and reminds entities of their obligations under the state’s cybersecurity regulation to promptly report the theft of consumers’ NPI. (See InfoBytes coverage on NYDFS’ cybersecurity regulation here.) The cybersecurity fraud alert furthers NYDFS’ commitment to improving cybersecurity protections for both consumers and the industry, and follows an enforcement action taken last year alleging cybersecurity regulation violations (see InfoBytes coverage of NYDYS’ complaint against a title insurer for allegedly failing to safeguard mortgage documents here), as well as the regulator’s recently issued cybersecurity insurance framework (covered by InfoBytes here).

    State Issues NYDFS Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security State Regulators Data Breach 23 NYCRR Part 500 Bank Regulatory

  • NYDFS enforces its cybersecurity regulation for the first time

    State Issues

    On July 22, NYDFS filed a statement of charges against a title insurer for allegedly failing to safeguard mortgage documents, including bank account numbers, mortgage and tax records, and other sensitive personal information. This is the first enforcement action alleging violations of NYDFS’ cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500), which took effect in March 2017 and established cybersecurity requirements for banks, insurance companies, and other financial services institutions. (See InfoBytes coverage on NYDFS’ cybersecurity regulation here.) Charges filed against the company allege that a “known vulnerability” in the company’s online-based data storage platform was not fixed, which allowed unauthorized users to access restricted documents from roughly 2014 through 2019 by changing the ImageDocumentID number in the URL. Although an internal penetration test (i.e., an authorized simulated cyberattack) discovered the vulnerability in December 2018, NYDFS claims that the company did not take corrective action until six months later, when a well-known journalist publicized the problems.

    The company allegedly violated six provisions of 23 NYCRR Part 500, including failing to (i) conduct risk assessments for sensitive data stored or transmitted within its information systems; (ii) maintain appropriate, risk-based policies governing access controls to sensitive data; (iii) limit user-access privileges to information systems providing access to sensitive data, or periodically reviewing these access privileges; (iv) implement a risk assessment system to sufficiently identify the availability and effectiveness of controls for protecting sensitive data and the company’s information system; (v) provide adequate data security training for employees and affiliated title agents responsible for handling sensitive data; and (vi) encrypt sensitive documents or implement suitable controls to protect sensitive data. Additionally, NYDFS maintains that, among other things, the company misclassified the vulnerability as “low” severity despite the magnitude of the document exposure, failed to investigate the vulnerability within the timeframe dictated by the company’s internal cybersecurity policies, and did not conduct a reasonable investigation into the exposure or follow recommendations made by its internal cybersecurity team.

    A hearing is scheduled for October 26 to determine whether violations occurred for the company’s alleged failure to safeguard consumer information.

    State Issues Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Title Insurance Mortgages 23 NYCRR Part 500 NYDFS Enforcement

  • NYDFS’ cybersecurity FAQs provide process for covered entities that no longer qualify for exemptions

    Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security

    On February 2, NYDFS updated its answers to FAQs regarding 23 NYCRR Part 500, which established cybersecurity requirements for banks, insurance companies, and other financial services institutions. (See here for previous InfoBytes coverage on updates to the FAQs.) Among other things, the update outlines the procedures covered entities must follow if the entity ceases to qualify for exemptions under Section 500.19. Covered entities who no longer qualify for an exemption will have 180 days from the end of their most recent fiscal year to comply with all applicable requirements of 23 NYCRR Part 500. NYDFS further notes that covered entities may be required to periodically refile their exemptions to ensure qualification.

    Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security NYDFS 23 NYCRR Part 500 State Issues Compliance

  • Final deadline approaching for NYDFS cybersecurity regulation

    Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security

    On January 31, NYDFS issued a reminder for regulated entities that the final deadline for implementing NYDFS’s cybersecurity regulation ends March 1. Under the new regulation, banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies, money transmitters, licensed lenders and other financial services institutions regulated by NYDFS are required to implement a cybersecurity program to protect consumer data. The last step in the implementation timeline requires covered entities that use third-party providers to put in place policies and procedures ensuring the security of information systems and nonpublic information accessible to, or held by, such third parties. NYDFS also reminded regulated entities that the deadline to file their second certification of compliance via NYDFS’ cybersecurity portal is February 15.

    Previously InfoBytes coverage on NYDFS’ cybersecurity regulation are available here.

    Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security NYDFS 23 NYCRR Part 500 State Issues Third-Party

  • NYDFS updates cybersecurity FAQs to address use of utilization review agents

    Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security

    On October 25, NYDFS provided a new update to its answers to FAQs relating to 23 NYCRR Part 500, which took effect March 1, 2017, and establishes cybersecurity requirements for banks, insurance companies, and other financial services institutions. The original promulgation of the FAQs was covered in Infobytes, as were the last updates in February, March, and August.

    The new update states that when a covered entity uses an independent “Utilization Review” agent (UR agent) who receives nonpublic information, the covered entity should treat the UR agent as a third-party service provider in order to properly assess and address any potential risks to their data and systems. NYDFS emphasizes that covered entities bear the responsibility for these protections.

    Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security NYDFS 23 NYCRR Part 500 State Issues

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