The FISMA Focus IPD

BY CHRIS STECHER, JUSTIN HECTUS

[Inside Counsel] Editor’s Note: On Sept. 13, 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York State Department of Financial Services Proposed 23 NYCRR 500 “Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies.” The proposed regulation was published on Sept. 28, 2016.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) made headlines on September 13 by announcing a “first-in-the-nation,” comprehensive cybersecurity regulation, which will mandate 16 “minimum standards” for the 4,000+ institutions operating under DFS jurisdiction.

From a practical perspective, the proposed regulation adopts or aligns with guidance from the2014 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework, portions of the Fair Trade Commission’s 2015 Start with Security program, as well as the basic requirements that banks have established and enforced for their third party vendors for several years. In short, there is nothing revolutionary or innovative in the proposed regulation.