[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Pittsford 5-17-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Town of Pittsford Computer
System Security Breach Notification Policy."
This computer system security breach notification policy is
intended to establish procedures to follow in the event a person(s)
has acquired, without valid authorization, private information of
individuals from the records of the Town of Pittsford and to alert
said individuals to any potential identity theft as quickly as possible
so that they may take appropriate steps to protect themselves from,
and remedy any impacts of, the potential identity theft or security
breach.
[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020]
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the New York State Constitution,
New York Municipal Home Rule Law § 10, General Business Law §§
899-aa and 899-bb, and New York State Technology Law § 208, and
may be amended from time to time by Town Board resolution or local
law.
[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Unauthorized access to or acquisition of, or access to or
acquisition without valid authorization of, computerized data that
compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of private
information maintained by the Town. Good faith access to, or acquisition
of, private information by an employee or agent of the Town for the
purposes of the employee or agent is not a breach of the security
of the system, provided that the private information is not used or
subject to unauthorized disclosure. In determining whether information
has been accessed, or is reasonably believed to have been accessed,
by an unauthorized person or a person without valid authorization,
the Town may consider, among other factors, indications that the information
was viewed, communicated with, used, or altered by a person without
valid authorization or by an unauthorized person.
In determining whether information has been acquired, or
is reasonably believed to have been acquired, by an unauthorized person
or a person without valid authorization, the Town may consider the
following factors, among others:
Indications that the information is in the physical possession
and control of an unauthorized person, such as a lost or stolen computer
or other device containing information; or
Indications that the information has been downloaded or copied;
or
Indications that the information was used by an unauthorized
person, such as fraudulent accounts opened or instances of identity
theft reported.
Any person or entity which, for monetary fees, dues or on
a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part
in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information
or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer
reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of
interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer
reports. A list of consumer reporting agencies may be obtained upon
request to the State Attorney General.
Any board, division, committee, commission, council, department,
public authority, public benefit corporation, office or other governmental
entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for the Town.
Any information concerning a natural person which, because
of name, number, personal mark, or other identifier, can be used to
identify that person.
Either:
Personal information consisting of any information in combination
with any one or more of the following data elements, when either the
data element or the combination of personal information plus the data
element is not encrypted or encrypted with an encryption key that
has also been accessed or acquired:
Social security number;
Driver's license number or nondriver identification card
number;
Account number, credit or debit card number, in combination
with any required security code, access code, password or other information
which would permit access to an individual's financial account;
Account number, or credit or debit card number, if circumstances
exist wherein such number could be used to access an individual's
financial account without additional identifying information, security
code, access code, or password;
Biometric information, meaning data generated by electronic
measurements of an individual's unique physical characteristics,
such as fingerprint, voice print, or retina or iris image, or other
unique physical representation or digital representation which are
used to authenticate or ascertain the individual's identity;
or
A user name or email address in combination with a password
or security question and answer that would permit access to an online
account.
Private information does not include publicly available information
that is lawfully made available to the general public from Town records.
The Town of Pittsford, County of Monroe.
Any Town department that owns or licenses computerized data that includes private information must disclose any breach of the security of the system to any individual whose private information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization. The disclosure must be made in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement, as provided in § 8-7 below, or any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach and restore the reasonable integrity of the data system. The Town shall consult with the State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination to determine the scope of the breach and restoration measures.
If the Town maintains computerized data that includes private
information which the Town does not own, the Town must notify the
owner or licensee of the information of any breach of the security
of the system immediately following discovery, if the private information
was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by a person
without valid authorization.
Notification pursuant to this policy may be delayed if a law
enforcement agency determines that notification could impede a criminal
investigation. The notification must be made after the law enforcement
agency determines that notification would not compromise any criminal
investigation.
[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020]
The required notice must be directly provided to the affected
individuals by one of the following methods:
A.
Written
notice;
B.
Electronic
notice, provided that the person to whom notice is required to be
provided has expressly consented to receiving notice in electronic
form and a log of each electronic notification is kept by the Town;
and provided further that no person or business may require a person
to consent to accepting notice in electronic form as a condition of
establishing any business relationship or engaging in any transaction;
C.
Telephone
notification, provided that a log of each telephone notification is
kept by the Town; or
D.
Substitute
notice, if the Town demonstrates to the State Attorney General that
the cost of providing notice would exceed $250,000 or that the number
of individuals to be notified exceeds 500,000, or the Town does not
have sufficient contact information. Substitute notice must include
all of the following:
(1)
Email notice when the Town has an email address for the subject persons,
except if the breached information includes an email address in combination
with a password or security question and answer that would permit
access to the online account, in which case the Town shall instead
provide clear and conspicuous notice delivered to the consumer online
when the consumer is connected to the online account from an internet
protocol address or from an online location which the Town knows the
consumer customarily uses to access the online account;
(2)
Conspicuous posting of the notice on the Town's website page,
if the Town maintains one; and
(3)
Notification to major state-wide media.
Regardless of the method by which notice is provided, the notice
must include contact information for the Town and a description of
the categories of information that were, or are reasonably believed
to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization, including
specification of which of the elements of personal information were,
or are reasonably believed to have been, acquired.
A.
Whenever any New York State residents are to be notified pursuant
to this Policy, the Town must notify the State Attorney General, the
Consumer Protection Board and the State Office of Cyber Security and
Critical Infrastructure Coordination as to the timing, content and
distribution of the notices and the approximate number of affected
people. Such notice must be made without delaying notice to affected
individuals.
B.
Whenever more than 5,000 New York State residents are to be notified
at one time, the Town must also notify consumer reporting agencies
as to the timing, content and distribution of the notices and the
approximate number of affected people. Such notice must be made without
delaying notice to affected individuals.
