Cybersecurity for Insurance CompaniesNY DFS Part 500. NAIC Model Law.
GLB Safeguards. Policyholder Data Secured.

The Gradius insurance cybersecurity program includes: NY DFS Part 500 compliance — CISO documentation, information security program, risk assessment, penetration testing coordination, vulnerability scanning, access privilege reviews, 72-hour incident notification procedures, annual certification documentation; NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law implementation for NJ and CT-licensed entities; GLB Act Safeguards Rule compliance; policyholder data and PII protection — access controls, encryption, DLP, audit logging; claims system security — EDR, network segmentation, immutable backup; BEC defense for premium and claims payment flows — DMARC/DKIM/SPF, advanced email security, MFA; and breach notification coordination for DFS, state insurance departments, state breach laws, and cyber insurance. Insurance carriers, agencies, MGAs, and brokerages of all sizes. Flat-rate per user.

The applicable regulations depend on your insurance company's licenses and operations. New York DFS Part 500 applies to all insurance entities licensed by the NY Department of Financial Services — carriers, agencies, intermediaries, and service providers who have access to nonpublic information of DFS-regulated entities. The NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law has been adopted in New Jersey and Connecticut, applying to licensed insurers and their agents. The GLB Act Safeguards Rule applies to all financial institutions — including insurance companies — that collect, store, process, or transmit consumer financial information. For insurance companies with operations in multiple states, additional state cybersecurity requirements may apply. Gradius identifies all applicable frameworks based on your specific licenses and operations and builds the program around the complete applicable set.

NY DFS Part 500 was enacted in 2017 and significantly expanded in 2023 with amendments that added enhanced requirements. The core program requirements — information security program, risk assessment, penetration testing, multi-factor authentication, encryption, incident response plan — remain in place. The 2023 amendments added: a CISO designation requirement (or documented justification for not having one); enhanced governance requirements including annual Board-level cybersecurity reporting; expanded access privilege management with regular reviews; a 72-hour cybersecurity incident notification requirement to DFS (previously 72 hours applied only to certain event types); enhanced business continuity and disaster recovery requirements; and the requirement to notify DFS of ransomware payments. For NY-licensed insurance entities, the 2023 amendments materially increased the compliance burden — particularly the CISO requirement, annual Board reporting, and enhanced incident notification scope. Gradius implements the complete 2023-amended DFS Part 500 requirements for NY-licensed insurance entities.

Ransomware targeting insurance companies creates a specific operational consequence that other industries don't face at the same intensity: when claims processing systems are encrypted, policyholders who have suffered losses — house fires, car accidents, medical emergencies — cannot have their claims processed or payments issued. The inability to serve policyholders in their moment of need creates both regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage that is difficult to recover from. Beyond the operational impact: policyholder PII and claims data in encrypted systems typically triggers HIPAA breach notification (if health information is included), DFS 72-hour notification, and state breach notification laws across all states where affected policyholders reside. The combination of operational disruption, regulatory obligation, and policyholder service failure makes insurance a particularly high-pressure ransomware target.

Core technical controls — EDR, email security, MFA, network segmentation for claims systems — are deployed within 1–2 weeks. DFS Part 500 compliance documentation — information security program, risk assessment, CISO documentation, incident response procedures — is developed over 30–60 days. NAIC Model Law and GLB compliance programs are built in parallel. For insurance companies with pressing regulatory timelines — an approaching DFS certification deadline, a state insurance department examination, or a new license that triggers DFS Part 500 applicability — Gradius prioritizes the regulatory documentation on an accelerated schedule while technical controls are deployed simultaneously. A functionally compliant insurance cybersecurity program is typically operational within 60 days of engagement.

No long-term lock-ins. We offer month-to-month and annual agreements. Insurance companies stay with Gradius because the DFS certification is filed correctly and on time, the NAIC and GLB compliance programs are maintained, policyholder data is protected, claims systems are defended against ransomware, and the cybersecurity program reflects actual implemented controls rather than aspirational documentation. We earn the renewal every month through performance.