(Bloomberg) -- Insurers doing business in New York State must tell a regulator there about efforts to prevent computer hacking, detailing the precautions taken and the personnel devoted to the task.
Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the state Department of Financial Services, said in a letter to insurers Thursday that they must provide the information by April 27 and submit to examinations by the agency. About 160 life, health and property & casualty insurers are affected.
“The department intends to schedule IT/cybersecurity examinations after conducting a comprehensive risk assessment of each institution,” Lawsky wrote.
Government agencies and regulators around the world are urging greater vigilance to counter cybercrime after attacks on firms exposed client information. Health insurer Anthem Inc. said last month that hackers accessed information on 78.8 million people. A breach of JPMorgan Chase & Co. compromised personal information of about 76 million households, the bank said in October.
“At DFS, we believe that cybersecurity is likely the most important issue we will face in 2015 -- and perhaps for many years to come after that,” Lawsky said in a speech on Feb. 25.
To contact the reporter on this story: Doni Bloomfield in New York at mbloomfiel12@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net Dan Reichl, David Scheer
