Building an Automated NYDFS-Ready PII Catalog
The server lights hum in the dark. Data moves. Every packet is a risk. Under the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation, risk is no longer background noise. It is defined, logged, and controlled.
The regulation demands that covered entities build and maintain a PII catalog. This is not optional. A Personal Identifiable Information catalog is the backbone of compliance, the core map of all data that can tie back to an individual. Names, addresses, emails, account numbers, biometric data—each must be tracked.
Section 500.03 and 500.09 of the NYDFS rule make it clear: an organization must know where PII lives, how it flows, who touches it, and how it is secured. A living PII catalog enables risk assessment, incident response, and audit readiness. If the map is wrong, the defense fails.
To meet NYDFS standards, the PII catalog should include:
- Data element type and definition
- Source system and storage location
- Access control roles
- Encryption status in transit and at rest
- Retention schedule and disposal method
The catalog is more than a static list. It must keep pace with code releases, system changes, and integrations. Automation is key. Manual updates fail under scale and speed. Modern tools can scan databases, APIs, logs, and data lakes to identify PII and feed updates in real time.
Compliance is only half the story. A full, active PII catalog reduces breach exposure. It guides security teams to the exact data at risk. It makes regulatory reporting faster and more precise. NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation is explicit on governance—executives must certify compliance annually. Without a verifiable PII inventory, certification is a gamble.
Tight integration of the PII catalog with identity management, encryption services, and monitoring is the fastest path to meeting the rule. Build workflows that detect new data sources, update the catalog instantly, and alert when PII is exposed in unapproved systems.
If your systems are moving fast, compliance can keep up—if the architecture is built to track PII from commit to production.
See this in action, live, in minutes with hoop.dev. Build an automated NYDFS-ready PII catalog today.