The Glacial Movement of Global Cybersecurity

In the pastoral setting of Le Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix, Quebec, G7 Summit partners met to discuss a broad spectrum of topics, including the shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, a mutual respect for human rights and common commitment to promote a rules-based international order. Amidst the discussions of freedom, democracy and, yes, tariffs, world leaders issued a “Charlevoix G7 Summit Communique,” which advised: “We will work together to enforce existing international rules and develop new rules where needed, to foster a… Continue Reading

Papua New Guinea Shuts Down Facebook…Temporarily

The democratic government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has announced a one-month shutdown of Facebook access within the nation, to allow the government to assess the spread of objectionable content, and to “allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed.” While regimes such as Iran, North Korea, and China currently censor the social networking site, PNG is the first democratic nation… Continue Reading

Firewall’s Up: South Carolina Passes First-of-its-Kind Insurance Data Security Act

South Carolina recently became the first state to pass legislation modeled closely on the Insurance Data Security Model Law that was approved by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) last October. Amid the rising incidence of cyberattacks, cyber security is a key issue facing the insurance sector. South Carolina has taken a proactive step in protecting their business and customers from possible data breaches. The South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI) Data Security Act, signed by the Governor on May 3, 2018, will become… Continue Reading

The SEC is Focused on Public Company Disclosure of Cybersecurity Risks

While new data privacy rules in the European Union have dominated the news lately, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not so quietly been making waves of its own in the regulation of cybersecurity. In February ,the SEC issued fresh guidance to public companies on the disclosure of cybersecurity issues, both in identifying risks prospectively and in disclosing breaches quickly. It then followed up that guidance in April with its first ever fine of a public company for failing to promptly disclose a… Continue Reading

The SEC Imposed its First Data-Breach Related Disclosure Penalty

On the heels of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) February 20, 2018 guidance on cybersecurity-related disclosures, the SEC imposed its first data breach related enforcement penalty. It should come as no surprise that the SEC’s first penalty was levied against Yahoo arising from its massive 2014 data breach. The $35 million penalty was, as the SEC stated in its April 24 press release, intended “to settle charges that [Yahoo] misled investors by failing to disclose one of the world’s largest data breaches… Continue Reading

Better Late Than Never — Time to Get Those Cybersecurity Certifications of Compliance into NYDFS

If you are an individual or company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), you may have received an email from NYDFS reminding you to submit your Certification of Compliance as soon as possible. New York’s relatively new cybersecurity regulation, 23 NYCRR 500 (the Regulation), requires all people and companies covered by the Regulation (Covered Entities) to file an annual statement by February 15 certifying that the entity was compliant (Certification of Compliance) with the Regulation as of December 31 of… Continue Reading

Study Finds Nearly Eighty Percent of Respondents Lack Formal Incident Response Plan on Cyberattacks

IBM Security has announced the staggering findings of the third-annual benchmark study on Cyber Resilience — an organization’s ability to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of cyberattacks. Conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM Resilient, more than 2,800 security and IT professionals were surveyed around the world in preparation of “The 2018 Cyber Resilient Organization.” The study found that many organizations continue to be ill-prepared for a cyberattack. Some of the more staggering findings are as follows:
  • 77 percent
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New York’s New Cyber Law Is Beginning to Byte

In late 2016, in response to the “ever-growing threat” posed to information and financial systems, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposed cybersecurity regulations to “promote the protection of customer information and information technology systems of regulated entities.” The DFS defined “covered entities” as any person operating under or required to operate under a license, registration, charter, certificate, permit, accreditation or similar authorization under the Banking Law, the Insurance Law, or the Financial Services Law of New York.  Banks, insurance companies, and… Continue Reading

NIST releases Risk Management Framework 2.0- combines Privacy, Security and Supply Chain into One

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the final version of its updated Risk Management Framework (RMF 2.0) addressing both privacy and security concerns around IT risk management.1 A risk management framework (RMF) is the structured process used to identify potential threats to an organization and to define the strategy for eliminating or minimizing the impact of these risks, as well as the mechanisms to effectively monitor and evaluate this strategy. Officials say the updates are the first NIST publication to address… Continue Reading

Re-Thinking the U.S. Government’s Approach to Cybersecurity

Are the “cybersecurity” tools used by the CIA and NSA causing harm to U.S. businesses and citizens? An analysis of the WikiLeaks materials, and recent hacker activity, suggests the answer may be yes. This month, it was revealed that at least 40 cyber attacks on organizations in 16 countries were conducted with top-secret hacking tools, according to security researcher Symantic Corporation. While not formally blaming the CIA, Symmantic said it connected these attacks to the CIA hacking tools obtained by WikiLeaks, and that the targets… Continue Reading