STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5736--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 23, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the state technology law, in relation to establishing the "secure our data act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "secure our 2 data act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that ransomware and 4 other malware attacks have affected the electronically stored personal 5 information relating to thousands of people statewide and millions of 6 people nationwide. The legislature also finds that state entities 7 receive such personal information from various sources, including the 8 data subjects themselves, other state entities, and the federal govern- 9 ment. In addition, the legislature finds that state entities use such 10 personal information to make determinations regarding the data subjects. 11 The legislature further finds that New Yorkers deserve to have their 12 personal information that is in the possession of a state entity stored 13 in a manner that will withstand any attempt by ransomware and other 14 malware to alter, change, or encrypt such information. 15 Therefore, the legislature enacts the secure our data act which will 16 guarantee that state entities will employ the proper technology to 17 protect the personal information stored as backup information from any 18 unauthorized alteration or change. 19 § 3. The state technology law is amended by adding a new section 210 20 to read as follows: 21 § 210. Ransomware and other malware protection. 1. Definitions. For 22 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following 23 meanings: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09002-03-3
A. 5736--A 2 1 (a) "Data subject" shall mean the person who is the subject of the 2 personal information. 3 (b) "Immutable" means data that is stored unchanged over time or 4 unable to be changed. For the purposes of backups, "immutable" shall 5 mean that, once ingested, no external or internal operation can modify 6 the data and must never be available in a read/write state to the 7 client. "Immutable" shall specifically apply to the characteristics and 8 attributes of a backup system's file system and may not be applied to 9 temporary systems state, time-bound or expiring configurations, or 10 temporary conditions created by a physical air gap as is implemented in 11 most legacy systems. An immutable file system must demonstrate charac- 12 teristics that do not permit the editing or changing of any data backed 13 up to provide agencies with complete recovery capabilities. 14 (c) "Information system" shall mean any good, service or a combination 15 thereof, used by any computer, cloud service, or interconnected system 16 that is maintained for or used by a state entity in the acquisition, 17 storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switch- 18 ing, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or voice including, 19 but not limited to, hardware, software, information appliances, firm- 20 ware, programs, systems, networks, infrastructure, media, and related 21 material used to automatically and electronically collect, receive, 22 access, transmit, display, store, record, retrieve, analyze, evaluate, 23 process, classify, manipulate, manage, assimilate, control, communicate, 24 exchange, convert, coverage, interface, switch, or disseminate data of 25 any kind or form. 26 (d) "Maintained" shall mean personal information stored by a state 27 entity that was provided to the state entity by the data subject, a 28 state entity, or a federal governmental entity. Such term shall also 29 include personal information provided by an adverse party in the course 30 of litigation or other adversarial proceeding. 31 (e) "Malware" shall mean malicious code included in any application, 32 digital content, document, executable, firmware, payload, or software 33 for the purpose of performing or executing one or more unauthorized 34 processes designed to have an adverse impact on the availability, confi- 35 dentiality, or integrity of data stored in an information system. 36 (f) "Ransomware" shall mean any type of malware that uses encryption 37 technology to prevent users from accessing an information system or data 38 stored by such information system until a ransom is paid. 39 (g) "State entity" shall mean any state board, bureau, division, 40 committee, commission, council, department, public authority, public 41 benefit corporation, office or other governmental entity performing a 42 governmental or proprietary function for the state of New York, except: 43 (i) the judiciary; and 44 (ii) all cities, counties, municipalities, villages, towns, and other 45 local agencies. 46 2. Data protection standards. (a) No later than one year after the 47 effective date of this section, the director, in consultation with 48 stakeholders and other interested parties, which shall include at least 49 one public hearing, shall promulgate regulations that design and develop 50 standards for: 51 (i) malware and ransomware protection for mission critical information 52 systems and for personal information used by such information systems; 53 (ii) data backup that includes the creation of immutable backups of 54 personal information maintained by the state entity and storage of such 55 backups in a segmented environment, including a segmented device;
A. 5736--A 3 1 (iii) information system recovery that includes creating an identical 2 copy of an immutable personal information backup maintained by or for 3 the state entity that was stored in a segmented environment or on a 4 segmented device for use when an information system has been adversely 5 affected by rent somewhere or other malware and requires restoration 6 from one or more backups; and 7 (iv) annual workforce training regarding protection from ransomware 8 and other malware, as well as processes and procedures that should be 9 followed in the event of a data incident involving ransomware or other 10 malware. 11 (b) Such regulations may be adopted on an emergency basis. If such 12 regulations are adopted on an emergency basis, the office shall engage 13 in the formal rulemaking procedure no later than the day immediately 14 following the date that the office promulgated such regulations on an 15 emergency basis. Provided that the office has commenced the formal rule- 16 making process, the regulations adopted on an emergency basis may be 17 renewed no more than two times. 18 3. Vulnerability assessments. Notwithstanding any provision of law to 19 the contrary, each state entity shall engage in vulnerability testing of 20 its information systems as follows: 21 (a) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-four and on a monthly 22 basis thereafter, each state entity shall perform, or cause to be 23 performed, a vulnerability assessment of at least one mission critical 24 information system ensuring that each mission critical system has under- 25 gone a vulnerability assessment during the past year. A report detailing 26 the vulnerability assessment methodology and findings shall be made 27 available to the office for review no later than forty-five days after 28 the testing has been completed. 29 (b) Beginning December first, two thousand twenty-four, each state 30 entity's entire information system shall undergo vulnerability testing. 31 A report detailing the vulnerability assessment methodology and findings 32 shall be made available to the office for review no later than forty- 33 five days after such testing has been completed. 34 (c) The office shall assist state entities in complying with the 35 provisions of this section. 36 4. Data and information system inventory. (a) No later than one year 37 after the effective date of this section, each state entity shall create 38 an inventory of the data maintained by the state entity and the purpose 39 or purposes for which such data is maintained and used. The inventory 40 shall include a listing of all personal information maintained by the 41 state entity, along with the source and age of such information. 42 (b) No later than one year after the effective date of this section, 43 each state entity shall create an inventory of the information systems 44 maintained by or on behalf of the state entity and the purpose or 45 purposes for which each such information system is maintained and used. 46 The inventory shall denote those information systems that are mission 47 critical and those that use personal information, and whether the infor- 48 mation system is protected by immutable backups. 49 (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision, if a 50 state entity has already completed a data inventory or information 51 systems inventory, such state entity shall update the previously 52 completed data inventory or information system inventory no later than 53 one year after the effective date of this section. 54 (d) Upon written request from the office, a state entity shall provide 55 the office with either or both of the inventories required to be created 56 or updated pursuant to this subdivision.
A. 5736--A 4 1 5. Incident management and recovery. (a) No later than eighteen months 2 after the effective date of this section, each state entity shall have 3 created an incident response plan for incidents involving ransomware or 4 other malware that renders an information system or its data unavail- 5 able, and incidents involving ransomware or other malware that result in 6 the alteration or deletion of or unauthorized access to, personal infor- 7 mation. 8 (b) Such incident response plan shall include a procedure for situ- 9 ations where production and non-segmented information systems have been 10 adversely affected by a data incident, as well as a procedure for the 11 storage of personal information and mission critical backups on a 12 segmented device or segmented portion of the state entity's information 13 system to ensure that such personal information and mission critical 14 systems are protected by immutable backups. 15 (c) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-six and on an annual 16 basis thereafter, each state entity shall complete at least one exercise 17 of its incident response plan that includes copying the immutable 18 personal information and mission critical applications from the 19 segmented portion of the state entity's information system and using 20 such copies in the state entity's restoration and recovery process. Upon 21 completion of such exercise, the state entity shall document the inci- 22 dent response plan's successes and shortcomings. 23 6. No private right of action. Nothing set forth in this section shall 24 be construed as creating or establishing a private cause of action. 25 § 4. Severability. The provisions of this act shall be severable and 26 if any portion thereof or the applicability thereof to any person or 27 circumstances shall be held to be invalid, the remainder of this act and 28 the application thereof shall not be affected thereby. 29 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.