2021 WISCONSIN ACT 73
An Act to create 601.465 (3) (f), subchapter IX (title) of chapter 601 [precedes 601.95], 601.95, 601.951, 601.952, 601.953, 601.954, 601.955 and 601.956 of the statutes; relating to: imposing requirements related to insurance data security and granting rule-making authority.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
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Section
1. 601.465 (3) (f) of the statutes is created to read:
601.465 (3) (f) All information protected under s. 601.955, which is subject only to the confidentiality provisions in s. 601.955.
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Section 2
. Subchapter IX (title) of chapter 601 [precedes 601.95] of the statutes is created to read:
Chapter 601
Subchapter IX
Insurance data security
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Section
3. 601.95 of the statutes is created to read:
601.95 Definitions. In this subchapter:
(1) “Authorized individual” means an individual who is known to and screened by a licensee and whose access to the licensee's information system or nonpublic information is determined by the licensee to be necessary and appropriate.
(2) “Consumer” means an individual who is a resident of this state and whose nonpublic information is in the possession, custody, or control of a licensee.
(3) “Cybersecurity event” means an event resulting in the unauthorized access to, or disruption or misuse of, an information system or the nonpublic information stored on an information system, except that a “cybersecurity event” does not include any of the following:
(a) The unauthorized acquisition of encrypted nonpublic information if the encryption process or key is not also acquired, released, or used without authorization.
(b) The unauthorized acquisition of nonpublic information if the licensee determines that the nonpublic information has not been used or released and has been returned to the licensee or destroyed.
(4) “Encrypted” means the transformation of data into a form that results in a low probability of assigning meaning without the use of a protective process or key.
(5) “Information security program” means the administrative, technical, and physical safeguards that a licensee uses to access, collect, distribute, process, protect, store, use, transmit, dispose of, or otherwise handle nonpublic information.
(6) “Information system” means a discrete set of electronic information resources organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of nonpublic information, as well as any specialized system, including an industrial or process controls system, telephone switching and private branch exchange system, and environmental control system.
(7) “Licensee” means a person licensed, authorized, or registered, or a person required to be licensed, authorized, or registered, under chs. 600 to 655, other than a purchasing or risk retention group that is chartered and licensed in another state or a person acting as an assuming insurer that is domiciled in another state or jurisdiction.
(8) “Multifactor authentication” means authentication through verification of at least 2 of the following types of authentication factors:
(a) Knowledge factor, including a password.
(b) Possession factor, including a token or text message on a mobile phone.
(c) Inherence factor, including a biometric characteristic.
(9) “Nonpublic information” means electronic information in the possession, custody, or control of a licensee that is not publicly available information and is any of the following:
(a) Information concerning a consumer that can be used to identify the consumer, in combination with at least one of the following data elements:
1. Social security number.
2. Driver's license number or nondriver identification card number.
3. Financial account number or credit or debit card number.
4. Security code, access code, or password that permits access to a financial account.
5. Biometric records.
(b) Information or data, other than information or data regarding age or gender, in any form or medium created by or derived from a health care provider or a consumer that can be used to identify the consumer and that relates to any of the following:
1. The physical, mental, or behavioral health or condition of the consumer or a member of the consumer's family.
2. The provision of health care to the consumer.
3. Payment for the provision of health care to the consumer.
(10) “Publicly available information” means information that a licensee has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state, or local government records, widely distributed media, or disclosures required by federal, state, or local law.
(11) “Third-party service provider” means a person other than a licensee who contracts with a licensee to maintain, process, or store nonpublic information or is otherwise permitted access to nonpublic information through its provision of services to the licensee.
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Section
4. 601.951 of the statutes is created to read:
601.951 General provisions.
(1) Exclusive state standards. This subchapter establishes the exclusive state standards applicable to licensees for data security, the investigation of a cybersecurity event, and notification of a cybersecurity event or unauthorized access to nonpublic information to the state government and consumers.
(2) Exceptions to applicability. (a) This subchapter does not apply to a person who is an employee, agent, representative, or designee of a licensee and who is also a licensee to the extent that the person is covered by the information security program of the other licensee and the other licensee has complied with this subchapter on behalf of the person.
(b) A licensee affiliated with a depository institution that maintains an information security program in compliance with the interagency guidelines establishing information security standards as set forth pursuant to 15 USC 6801 and 6805 shall be considered to meet the requirements of this subchapter, provided that the licensee produces, upon request of the commissioner, documentation satisfactory to the commissioner that independently validates the adoption by the affiliated depository institution of an information security program that satisfies the interagency guidelines.
(bm) A licensee affiliated with a broker, as defined in 15 USC 78c (a) (4), or dealer, as defined in 15 USC 78c (a) (5), that maintains an information security program in compliance with the requirements of the financial industry regulatory authority that address information security standards shall be considered to meet the requirements of this subchapter, provided that the licensee produces, upon request of the commissioner, documentation satisfactory to the commissioner that independently validates the adoption by the affiliated broker or dealer of an information security program that satisfies the financial industry regulatory authority's requirements.
(c) A licensee affiliated with a legal entity established pursuant to the federal farm credit act of 1971, 12 USC 2001, et seq., that maintains an information security program in compliance with the farm credit administration's guidance and regulations establishing policies and procedures to address data security and integrity shall be considered to meet the requirements of this subchapter, provided that the licensee produces, upon request of the commissioner, documentation satisfactory to the commissioner that independently validates the adoption by the affiliated legal entity of an information security program that satisfies the farm credit administration's guidance and regulations.
(d) This subchapter, except for s. 601.954 (1), does not apply to a licensee who is subject to and governed by 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164 and who maintains nonpublic information in the same manner as protected health information under 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164.
(e) If a licensee ceases to qualify for an exception under par. (a) to (d), the licensee shall have 180 days to comply with this subchapter.
(3) Agreements between parties. Nothing in this subchapter shall prevent or abrogate an agreement between a licensee and another licensee, a 3rd-party service provider, or another party to fulfill any of the requirements under s. 601.953 or 601.954.
(4) Private cause of action. This subchapter may not be construed to create or imply a private cause of action for violation of its provisions or to curtail a private cause of action that otherwise exists in the absence of this subchapter.
(5) Rules. The commissioner may promulgate rules that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.
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Section
5. 601.952 of the statutes is created to read:
601.952 Information security program. (1) Implementation of program. No later than one year after the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], a licensee shall develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive written information security program based on the licensee's risk assessment under sub. (2) and consistent with the conditions of sub. (3) (a). The program shall contain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for the protection of the licensee's information systems and nonpublic information. The licensee shall design the program to do all of the following:
(a) Protect against threats and hazards to the security and integrity of the information systems and nonpublic information.
(b) Protect against unauthorized access to and use of nonpublic information and minimize the likelihood of harm to a consumer from the unauthorized access or use.
(c) Establish and periodically reevaluate a schedule for retention and disposal of nonpublic information and establish a mechanism for the destruction of nonpublic information that is no longer needed.
(2) Risk assessment. The licensee shall conduct a risk assessment under which the licensee shall do all of the following:
(a) Identify reasonably foreseeable internal and external threats that could result in unauthorized access to or transmission, disclosure, misuse, alteration, or destruction of nonpublic information, including nonpublic information that is accessible to or held by 3rd-party service providers of the licensee.
(b) Assess the likelihood and potential damage of the threats identified under par. (a), taking into consideration the sensitivity of the nonpublic information.
(c) Assess the sufficiency of policies, procedures, information systems, and other safeguards to manage the threats identified under par. (a) in each relevant area of the licensee's operations, including all of the following:
1. Employee training and management.
2. Information systems, including the classification, governance, processing, storage, transmission, and disposal of information.
3. Processes for detecting, preventing, and responding to attacks, intrusions, and other system failures.
(3) Risk management. Based on the risk assessment under sub. (2), the licensee shall do all of the following:
(a) Design an information security program to mitigate the identified threats, commensurate with the size and complexity of the licensee, the nature and scope of the licensee's activities, including its use of 3rd-party service providers, and the sensitivity of the nonpublic information.
(b) Implement the following security measures, as appropriate:
