9/18/2017

CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR: “New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday [9-18-17] that he wants credit-reporting firms to comply with the state’s cyber-security regulations, the latest government official to crack down on the industry in the wake of the massive Equifax hack.
Also on Monday, Bloomberg News reported that federal authorities have opened a criminal probe into stock sales by three Equifax Inc executives before the company disclosed the massive data breach, news that has weighed heavily on the stock price.
The company has said the executives were unaware of the hack when they sold the stock for $1.8 million.
Equifax’s legal woes worsened as the U.S Attorney’s office in Atlanta issued a statement saying it was working with the FBI on a criminal investigation into the breach and theft of personal information…
Cuomo said he planned to require all credit-reporting agencies to register with the state and comply with its cyber-security rules.
The proposed regulation would take effect in February, Cuomo said in a statement. If the companies do not register, they risk being barred from doing business with financial companies regulated by New York state…
Proposed regulations are typically subject to a period for public comment before they become final.
A New York state cyber-security regulation, the first of its kind in the United States, took effect on March 1. It requires financial firms to take measures to protect networks and customer data from hackers and disclose cyber events to regulators.”

-Diane Bartz, “New York governor wants credit-reporting firms to follow cyber rules,” Reuters, Sept. 18, 2017 06:47am