Connecticut Insurance Data and Information Security

Connecticut ACT Concerning Insurance Data and Information Security

Section 230 of the Connecticut budget bill is called the “Insurance Data Security Law”; Connecticut now requires registered entities to have Information security and Cyber security program similar to New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Section 230 became effective as of October 1, 2019, and the information security program must be implemented by no later than October 1, 2020. The purpose of this section 230 is to establish standards for data and information security for persons licensed and required to be licensed by the Insurance Commissioner, require licensees to notify the commissioner following cybersecurity events,d require the commissioner to investigate such possibilities.

Information Security Program

The requirements include the implementation and maintenance of a Written Information Security Program (WISP) based upon a risk assessment as well as administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect non-public information: Board of Directors oversight, policies, procedures, and precautions, risk management program included risk assessment, risk evaluation, risk mitigation of internal and external systems, and third parties vendor/suppliers, cybersecurity awareness training, encryption of data in transit and at rest, multifactor authentication, and continuous monitoring to identify unauthorized access to, or unauthorized alteration, destruction, disclosure, misuse or transmission of, nonpublic information. Speak with an expert.

Section 230 affects Insurance Companies, and third parties Auto Insurance

·         Life Insurance

·         Business Insurance

·         Recreational Insurance

·         Umbrella Insurance

·         Financial Insurance

·         Health & Long Term Care Insurance

·         Flood Insurance

·         Health Insurance

·         Homeowners Insurance

·         Insurance company’s suppliers

Breach & Cyber Event Notification

Cybersecurity event, the notification must be made to the Commissioner within three business days. Suppose an insurance licensee notifies an individual under the Connecticut breach notification law. In that case, the insurer must inform not only the individuals but also the Connecticut Attorney General and the Insurance Commissioner and has a “continuing obligation to update and supplement such information.”

Enforcement of Section 230

The enforcement provisions allow the Commissioner permission to “suspend revoke or refuse to reissue or renew any license, certificate of registration or authorization to operate” … and state that the Commissioner can impose a civil penalty of not more than fifty thousand dollars for each violation of the provision of this section.

The bill also requires insurance licensees to offer 24 months of credit monitoring to affected individuals in a data breach, which is consistent with the Connecticut data breach notification law.

CyberSecOp is listed in FINRA's Compliance Vendor Directory

FINRA, Finance Industry Regulatory Authority, released its Compliance Vendor Directory as a convenient, one-stop source for firms searching for vendors that offer compliance-related products and services. CyberSecOp is pleased to announce that we are listed on FINRA's Compliance Vendor Directory as a data management vendor.

CyberSecOp team has been providing expert compliance consulting services to the financial services industry. We take security seriously, we maintaining client relationships and delivering the highest levels of compliance services. Our client base includes some of the most respected names in the financial services industry and ranges from large international firms to small firms. Our satisfied clients include advisers, institutional investors, private funds, investment companies, and broker-dealer.

CyberSecOp offers several services to help keep businesses compliant with a number of different regulations and governing bodies. As a member of the financial industry, keeping your organization compliant can be a source of constant stress that’s always in the back of your mind. Performing self-audits and constant reviewing of records to make sure you’re meeting the standards set by your industry can be time-consuming to the point that you’re slipping behind other important work. FINRA members can view the FINRA Compliance Vendor Directory here: http://www.finra.org/industry/cvd

How to Clean Malware From Your Website

Cyberthreats will continue to grow as technology and big data evolve. Whether the motive is to steal money and data or simply wreak havoc, cybercriminals often have a solid return on investment of their time when they attack unprotected and vulnerable websites. They target websites with software that has a malicious intention – also known as malware – and they aren’t slowing down anytime soon.

 Malware can change the appearance of your website, files, and even alter your computer operating system entirely. Cybercriminals gain unauthorized access to these systems by exploiting vulnerabilities found in weak entry points within system software. In fact, malware can cause your website to be flagged and removed from search engines, ultimately resulting in loss of traffic, decreased trust from your consumers or visitors, and a potential negative impact on your bottom line.

 The impacts of malware can often depend on the overall goal of the attacker. Cyber-attacks can range from site defacements to a phishing email, and each has a different agenda. For example, a website defacement can be thought of as online graffiti, and the intention could simply be to make a statement of some kind. If you have an online business or simply have an online presence, there is a good chance you could be faced with malware on your website. To help you prepare, we’ve provided the following simple steps on how to remove malware from your website.

How to Determine if Your Website Has Been Infected By Malware

 Cleaning your website of malware first requires identifying whether the site has been infected. An infected website has the following characteristics:

 ●     Slow loading pages, or slow downloads

●     Advertisements that pop up on the page, and re-pop up or do not go away even after attempting to close them

●     Changes in your website theme or general appearance

●     Spam email flooding your inbox

●     Website comments full of comment spam or advertisements

●     Traffic redirection to other websites resulting in low site traffic on your own page

●     Removal from the general search results on various search engines

How to Clean Your Website

Step 1: Back up your site content

 Before starting the malware removal process – always make a backup of your website files and database. This will allow you to restore your website if anything goes awry during the malware removal process such as file corruption. Look for a backup in your file manager or in a local drive as this may come in handy to replace files damaged by malware.   

Step 2: Identify the malware

Use the file manager within your web hosting account or download an FTP manager to download and review your website files. This could be a time-consuming process depending on how many pages make up your website, but it’s a critically important step. When you do find files that look suspicious, review the code within the files for clues such as eval, base64, fromCharcode, gzinflate, shell_exec or error_reporting(). 

Step 3: Replace damaged files

 Once malware has been successfully removed by restoring the file from a backup or completely removing the malicious file, try loading your website to ensure you are able to successfully view the content on the page. If your defacement is still visible or you have visible scripting errors on your page you must keep looking for the malware affecting your site. As a best practice, keep a current copy of the clean website files and database as well. This should be kept offsite in the event your website is re-infected.    

Step 4: Enhance your website defense mechanisms

 Removing malware and replacing all of your files can only do so much. If you don’t practice and implement proper cybersecurity protocols, such as keeping your software up-to-date and backing up your content, you’re leaving your online assets vulnerable to another cyber-attack.  As a best practice, you should aim to improve your cyber defenses by implementing a web application firewall (WAF) to block cyber threats before they ever hit your website. In addition, it’s recommended to use a website scanner that can automatically detect and remediate malware and other threats as they happen. 

Step 5: Protect your online accounts

 It’s important to always use strong passwords for every account. Never write your passwords in a notebook or keep them in a spreadsheet online for someone to find. Always use a strong password that includes numbers, letters, and special characters. However, even if you are the only one who knows your password you aren’t doing yourself any favors by using the same strong password over and over for each account. Using a password manager will save you the hassle of remembering a plethora of passwords to logging to your accounts.  

Staying Safe from Malware in the Future

Maintaining a clean and malware-free website is fundamental to the success of any website. And, if the website in question is connected to a business, it could prevent you from potential legal action. Case in point - the recent Equifax and Capital One data breaches have both resulted in class action lawsuits against each company, and new data breaches continue to occur resulting in additional lawsuits.   

The truth is, if you are running a website of any kind, you owe it to your visitors to have security measures in place. Just a few of the things you can do include, but are not limited to:

●     Installing a web application firewall (WAF) to protect your website and web applications from harmful traffic (such as cybercriminals and bad bots), and other cyber threats

●     Use a malware scanner to automatically check your website for malicious software and cyber threats that can harm your website

●     Update your website often, and keep a clean backup of all data and files at all times, so that in the event of infection you can install the clean copy and get back online faster

●     Use a password manager to securely manage the logins for all of your online accounts

Conclusion 

Malware can be dangerous for any website, and removing it is vital for the safety and protection of both the website owner, and its visitors. Therefore, understanding what malware is and how to remove it is the first step towards ensuring a malware-free site. Hopefully, the above information has inspired you to keep an eye on your website and ensure your business is protected from cybercriminals.

CyberSecOp and Coronet announce partnership

CyberSecOp and Coronet announce partnership

 Bringing Coronet’s AI and cloud technology extends CyberSecOp capability to protect lean IT and SMB companies.

 Stamford, CT – September 18, 2019 – CyberSecOp, a Cyber Security consulting firm based in Stamford, CT announced today its partnership with Coronet, the world leader in security as-as-service powered by AI and cloud. 

Coronet, which provides security for cloud applications, BYOD and communications over public networks, brings enterprise grade security to companies of any size.

With Coronet’s AI platform, CyberSecOp will identify and remediate SaaS vulnerabilities, malware and ransomware spread through cloud services, malicious behavior by employees, and control access to SaaS based on the security posture of the device and network the user is using.

 “We were very impressed with Coronet’s ability to identify and remediate risks. Most of our customers are moving to cloud platforms such as Office 365, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Slack to name a few. Practically all of our customers adopted a BYOD strategy.” Said Jeffery Walker CISO of CyberSecOp. “These cost and convenience driven advances leave organizations extremely exposed from a cybersecurity and regulatory perspective, and Coronet helps us protect our customers against these threats.”

 Coronet’s platform not only protects against cyber threats, but identifies PII, PCI, and PHI regulatory violations in files that are stored in cloud services or sent through them. As regulators become more aggressive, with fines and penalties skyrocketing, Coronet’s ability to identify potential violations eliminates such regulatory exposure.

 “We are very excited to have CyberSecOp join the Coronet family. We are very impressed with the caliber of talent that we saw at CyberSecOp, and know that Coronet in their hands would alleviate many risks and concerns their customers currently experience.”

  About CyberSecOp

CyberSecOp Security Consulting Services is a leading provider in managed security and compliance services, providing clients with a comprehensive security team, with a board-level cyber security consultant to drive organization strategic planning. The CyberSecOp team will provide strategic leadership, security strategy, compliance, & corporate security consulting, aligning your GRC activities to business performance drivers. To explore our security solutions and services, visit us at www.cybersecop.com or follow us at @CyberSecOp on social media.

About Coronet

Coronet is a world leader in providing organizations of every size with security for their cloud applications, bring-your-own-devices, and communications over public networks. With over 2.5 million users, Coronet's platform uses AI to detect and mitigate threats, eliminating the need for a security team to chase down security events. Provided as a subscription service, with nothing to install on premises, Coronet brings enterprise grade cyber security to organizations of any size, at an affordable price, eliminating the complexity and laborious nature of traditional security platforms. To learn more about Coronet, visit us at www.coro.net or follow @coronetworks on social media.