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"DFS"

Last month, many New York State Financial Institutions received their scary “Failure to File Certification of Compliance” email and were perplexed by what to do next… Don’t fear, the Digital Edge's VP of Compliance is here to answer your many many submitted questions regarding NYS Department of Financial Services Part 500 Mandatory Cybersecurity Requirements! These are the questions for this month:

• I thought I was exempt and now I’m being notified that I’m PAST DUE, what do I do next?
• Where do I find a sample Certificate of Compliance? Do I have to create my own?
• What does Entity ID mean on the portal?
• Should I file this certificate if we are not yet in compliance with all applicable requirements of Part 500?
• This law requires me to report any cyber-security breach, is there a particular time frame?
• Are all Third-Party Service Providers required to implement Multi-Factor Authentication and encryption when dealing with a Covered Entity?
• What constitutes "continuous monitoring" for purposes of 23 NYCRR 500.05?

Have you noticed that the most recent reports of email scams seem to be more personal/targeted attacks? Do you feel that scammers know you? That’s because they do know you.Office 365 gives malicious agents a way to spy on you. If you don’t believe us, just google it yourself and you will see reports of Office365 vulnerabilities, hacks and exposures. Just type “Office365 security vulnerabilities” and skip paid ads section. 
 
Do you use Office365? If the answer is yes, Digital Edge would like to raise awareness to you regarding a new upcoming way of being hacked and then being under surveillance through your email. The majority of people use Office365 without the thought of being hacked ever crossing their minds. Because of this, it is very easy to become victim to these attackers. And there have been very serious, very extreme cases of people and companies losing thousands of dollars to these attackers.

This past weekend (March 3-4th) Digital Edge passed another ISO 27001:2013 Information Technology Security Management System Requirements surveillance audit!  Our ISO Certification is up to date with no interruptions or non-conformities! We would like to thank our staff and support for dedicating their time in getting certified. Digital Edge is an expert in ISO standards, we offer assistance in ISO Certification for companies that need to stay in compliance. 

The Digital Edge Security and Compliance Team can assist your business to implement policies, standards and practices based on International Standards Organization framework! Contact us today to further explore how our team can provide your business with an unparalleled cybersecurity solution, with our continued focus on Stability, Security, Efficiency and Compliance.

Last Wednesday, February 21st, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously approved a new guidance calling on public companies to be more forthcoming when disclosing cybersecurity risks, even before a breach or attack happens. The statement, which expands on previous guidance issued in 2011, also warns that corporate insiders must not trade shares when they have information about cybersecurity issues that isn’t public yet. The guidance provides the Commission’s views about public companies’ disclosure obligations under existing law with respect to matters involving cybersecurity risk and incidents.  It also addresses the importance of cybersecurity policies and procedures and the application of disclosure controls and procedures, insider trading prohibitions, and Regulation FD and selective disclosure prohibitions in the cybersecurity context. Learn more about this guidelines here! 

Digital Edge is an expert in ISO standards, and is certified by International Standard Organization on Information Security and Quality (ISO 27001). The Digital Edge Security and Compliance Team can assist your business to implement policies, standards and practices that not only meet the SEC guidance but exceed these recommendations by providing clients with cybersecurity policies and procedures based on International Standards Organization framework.

Contact us today to further explore how our team can provide your business with an unparalleled cybersecurity solution, with our continued focus on Stability, Security, Efficiency and Compliance.

New York State Department of Financial Services recently updated its web page to indicate that any covered entities (i.e., agencies, insurance agents or insurance brokers) that already submitted their Certification of Compliance, needs to do so again after Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. 

According to the department, "The Certification of Compliance certifies that a Covered Entity complied with 23 NYCRR 500 for the entire calendar year. As such, the department only expects to receive a Certification of Compliance between January 1 and the February 15 deadline for the previous calendar year. Unless a Covered Entity is ceasing department-authorized operations before that year end, a Certification of Compliance before year end will not satisfy the requirement that a Covered Entity certify its compliance as of year-end."

The NYDFS Cyber Security Regulation (23NYCRR500) requires all New York-licensed insurance agencies, agents and brokers to file a certification of compliance, prior to Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, and annually thereafter. The certification confirms that the licensed entity has complied with the regulation to the extent required, which includes conducting a risk assessment and developing cybersecurity programs and policies based upon that risk assessment. 

Digital Edge is an expert in ISO standards, is certified by International Standard Organization on Information Security and Quality (ISO 27001). There is a clear crosswalk between DFS law and ISO standards. Digital Edge will help to implement policies, standards and practices to cover all DFS requirements based on International Standards Organization framework.

Contact us today to further explore how our team can provide your business with an unparalleled cybersecurity solution, with our continued focus on Stability, Security, Efficiency and Compliance. 

For more information on this regulation and to ensure that your organization is following the critical compliance requirements, please read our most recent articles:

1. DFS Compliance – Mandatory Cybersecurity Requirements
2. To Do: Check List to Comply with DFS Cybersecurity Law
3. Discover the NEW online DFS Cybersecurity Reporting Portal
4. Exempt from DFS Cybersecurity Regulations – Now What?

In March of 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) issued its “Part 500” - Mandatory Cybersecurity Requirements for financial services entities. Thus, requiring banks, insurers, and other financial institutions to establish and maintain a “risk-based, holistic, and robust security program” that is ultimately designed to protect consumers’ private data. Partial exemptions are provided for covered entities based on their staffing level, annual revenue, or total assets. 

The initial deadline for submitting an annual Certification of Compliance on February 15, 2018 is rapidly approaching, and all organizations are required to comply with DFS Part 500 Section 9, Risk Assessment by March 1, 2018. 

Digital Edge is an expert in ISO standards, is certified by International Standard Organization on Information Security and Quality (ISO 27001). There is a clear crosswalk between DFS law and ISO standards. Digital Edge will help to implement policies, standards and practices to cover all DFS requirements based on International Standards Organization framework.
 
Contact us today to further explore how our team can provide your business with an unparalleled cybersecurity solution, with our continued focus on Stability, Security, Efficiency and Compliance. 

For more information on this regulation and to ensure that your organization is following the critical compliance requirements, please read our most recent articles:

1. DFS Compliance – Mandatory Cybersecurity Requirements
2. To Do: Check List to Comply with DFS Cybersecurity Law
3. Discover the NEW online DFS Cybersecurity Reporting Portal
4. Exempt from DFS Cybersecurity Regulations – Now What?

The Digital Edge Security Team is aware of a set of security vulnerabilities—known as Meltdown and Spectre—that affect modern CPUs and virtual memory access. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to obtain access to sensitive information.

We analyzed our clients configurations and our own DE Cloud Infrastructure, and as of now, do not see any active exploitation of this vulnerability. 

There has been much contradictory information. The Digital Edge Security Team explains the vulnerability in simple terms and provides suggestions on how to handle the situation here.

The Digital Edge Security Team warns that HIDDEN COBRA actors have been using FALLCHILL malware to target IT infrastructures. DHS and FBI specified Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with a remote administration tool (RAT) used by the North Korean government—commonly known as FALLCHILL. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by North Korea as HIDDEN COBRA. 

HIDDEN COBRA uses dual proxy technique allowing to change vector of the attack and keep the source of the attack hidden.
 
These types of activities can have severe impacts such as data loss and disruption of operation. The Digital Edge Security Team has updated its own core infrastructure to protect our clients from possible impacts of HIDDEN COBRA and advise other IT organization to use the same practice. 

Click here for more details.

DFS Suggested IPs to Block HIDDEN COBRA