{"id":240884,"date":"2026-05-22T19:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240884\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T19:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:45:09","slug":"new-york-issues-cybersecurity-tips-for-a-heightened-threat-climate-with-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240884\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Issues Cybersecurity Tips for a \u2018Heightened Threat\u2019 Climate With AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Citing a need for the financial services industry to be prepared for increased cybersecurity threats, New York\u2019s regulator has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dfs.ny.gov\/industry-guidance\/industry-letters\/20260521-guidance-on-measures-reg-entities-should-consider-in-a-hcte\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">issued new guidance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) identifies risk management and compliance efforts that banking, insurance and other financial services organizations and individuals should consider taking when they become aware of a \u201cheightened cybersecurity threat environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DFS defines a \u201cheightened threat environment\u201d as a period when cybersecurity risks are \u201csignificantly elevated and therefore have a high likelihood\u201d of impacting information systems, nonpublic information or operations.<\/p>\n<p>DFS noted that this latest guidance does not establish new legal requirements. Rather, it identifies best practices regulated entities should consider implementing to the extent not already required by the state\u2019s comprehensive<a href=\"https:\/\/govt.westlaw.com\/nycrr\/Browse\/Home\/NewYork\/UnofficialNewYorkCodesRulesandRegulations?guid=I313a9780526a11e18ead0000845b8d3e&amp;originationContext=documenttoc&amp;transitionType=Default&amp;contextData=(sc.Default)&amp;bhcp=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> cybersecurity regulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis guidance gives our regulated entities actionable steps that can be taken when the threat environment intensifies,\u201d said Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow. \u201cEach entity should assess their unique circumstances and operations to identify which steps are warranted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DFS provides a list of best practices firms should consider to reduce the attack surface, improve threat detection and readiness, and improve resilience and response. Examples include:<\/p>\n<p>Where possible, disable the use of inactive or unnecessary ports and protocols.<br \/>\nRestrict multi-factor authentication (MFA) enrollment and changes to authorized processes with strong identity verification. For example, consider requiring IT approvals for adding new MFA authenticator devices, applications, and accounts.<br \/>\nAlert all personnel to relevant steps they can take to prevent, detect, and respond to ongoing cyber threat campaigns, including social engineering techniques.<br \/>\nEngage with critical third-party service providers to confirm awareness of and appropriate action on heightened cybersecurity risks and readiness to respond to potential disruptions.<br \/>\nMonitor financial transactions, including virtual currency business activity, to ensure compliance with applicable orders and guidance on sanctions and anti-money laundering.<\/p>\n<p>As an example of a heightened threat environment that may warrant stronger defensive measures and increased vigilance, DFS identifies geopolitical events that have the \u201cpotential to increase the risk of cyberattacks or technological developments that materially change cybersecurity risks, such as the release of frontier AI models.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Geopolitical volatility is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/international\/2025\/10\/01\/841218.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">top 10 business risk<\/a> with cyber risk remaining the number one concern globally, according to Aon\u2019s 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aon.com\/en\/insights\/reports\/global-risk-management-survey?utm_source=pr&amp;utm_medium=press-release&amp;utm_campaign=b_0_ri__all_crs_zz_global_r0&amp;utm_content=r_stl-grms_re\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Global Risk Management Survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As anxiety over the power and proliferation of AI models has been building, U.S. cybersecurity officials are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/national\/2026\/05\/04\/868205.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">considering sharply shorter deadlines<\/a> for fixing critical flaws in government IT systems, amid concerns hackers could exploit them using artificial\u2011intelligence tools such as Anthropic\u2019s Mythos, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters also recently reported that as geopolitical tensions have increased cybersecurity risks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/international\/2026\/04\/27\/867321.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Europe\u2019s top financial regulator<\/a> has been contacting financial entities it supervises to assess their cybersecurity defenses in light of recent developments in AI.<\/p>\n<p>A copy of New York\u2019s newest guidance can be found on the DFS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dfs.ny.gov\/industry-guidance\/industry-letters\/20260521-guidance-on-measures-reg-entities-should-consider-in-a-hcte\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>. Additional cybersecurity resources can be found at its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dfs.ny.gov\/industry_guidance\/cybersecurity\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cybersecurity Resource Center.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last fall, the New York financial services regulator warned of the cyber risks associated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/east\/2025\/10\/23\/844892.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">growing use of third-party service providers<\/a> (TPSP). Exposure to threats will continue to grow as reliance on technologies managed by TPSPs, such as cloud computing, file transfer systems, artificial intelligence, and fintech solutions, continues to grow, said DFS in its TPSP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dfs.ny.gov\/industry-guidance\/industry-letters\/il20251021-guidance-managing-risks-third-party#_ftn12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">cybersecurity guidance.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>DFS regulates more than 3,900 banking and financial institutions and thousands of insurance entities, which together manage more than $5.7 trillion in combined assets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagtag\">\n            Topics<br \/>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/insurtech\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\" style=\"color: #fff; padding: 2px 8px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 2px;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">InsurTech<\/a><br \/>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/data-driven\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\" style=\"color: #fff; padding: 2px 8px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 2px;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Data Driven<\/a><br \/>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/ai\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\" style=\"color: #fff; padding: 2px 8px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 2px;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Artificial Intelligence<\/a><br \/>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/cyber\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\" style=\"color: #fff; padding: 2px 8px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 2px;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cyber<\/a><br \/>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/location\/new-york\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\" style=\"color: #fff; padding: 2px 8px; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 2px;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York<\/a>\n                    <\/p>\n<p>            Interested in Ai?<\/p>\n<p>Get automatic alerts for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Citing a need for the financial services industry to be prepared for increased cybersecurity threats, New York\u2019s regulator&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[94142,9,3773,94143,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-240884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-insurance-cyber-attack","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-cybersecurity-regulations","tag-new-york-department-of-financial-services-dfs-superintendent-benjamin-lawsky","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}