New York plans cybersecurity reviews of insurers after breach

[BOSTON] New York's Financial Services Department said on Monday it planned to do regular cybersecurity reviews of insurers in the wake of the massive breach at health insurer Anthem Inc.

The state agency said in a statement that it will "integrate regular, targeted assessments of cyber security preparedness at insurance companies as part of the department's examination process." It also said it plans to issue "enhanced regulations" that would require institutions to meet "heightened standards for cyber security." "We're still in the process of finalizing and determining the enhanced requirements, but we are moving quickly and expect to begin putting them forward in the coming weeks," department spokesman Matt Anderson said. "These requirements are specific to New York, but we're of course always willing to discuss these issues with other states," he added.

Anthem said last week that it suffered a massive cyber attack, with hackers breaching a system containing data on up to 80 million people.

That attack has underscored the risks for theft of personal information at insurance companies, which often house significant amounts of personal data.

REUTERS