The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued new guidance this week intended to assist organizations in thwarting ransomware attacks. The guidance clarifies the NYDFS’ expectation that NYDFS-regulated companies should “implement these controls whenever possible” and report any successful deployment of ransomware or unauthorized access to privilege accounts to the NYDFS under its established […]
Russia Sanctioned For Role In SolarWinds Supply Chain Attack
On April 15, 2021, the Biden Administration took a significant step in announcing sanctions against the Russian Government and private Russian entities for multiple internationally-destabilizing activities, including the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service’s (SVR) supply chain attack of the SolarWinds Orion platform and other technology infrastructures. In addition to the sanctions, the Administration also provided practical […]
State Financial Regulators Issue Ransomware Mitigation Tool
On October 13, 2020, state financial regulators in partnership with the Bankers Electronic Crimes Taskforce and the U.S. Secret Service, released the Ransomware Self-Assessment Tool (R-SAT) to help financial institutions mitigate the risks of ransomware. The R-SAT is a detailed questionnaire designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an institution’s general security controls as well as […]
The NYDFS Brings First Enforcement Action under the Cybersecurity Regulation
On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (the “NYDFS”) brought its first enforcement action under its Cybersecurity Regulation (the “Regulation”) against a large title insurer (the “Company”) for failing to protect sensitive personal information. The NYDFS is seeking civil monetary penalties, an order requiring the Company to remedy the alleged […]
UK National Cyber Security Centre Advisory: Russian Attackers, APT29, Targets Companies Involved in COVID-19 Vaccine Development
Yesterday, the UK National Cyber Security Centre and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment released an advisory linking APT29 (also known as, ‘the Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear’) to attacks against COVID-19 vaccine development in Canada, the US and the UK. The Advisory stated that APT29 is “almost certainly part of the Russian intelligence services.” APT29/Cozy Bear was […]