One of the Department's top priorities in 2002 was to ensure that New York's financial system was not used by terrorists. As the gatekeepers to global commerce, bankers are well equipped to look at the flow of payments related to criminal activity. In the months following the terrorist attacks, banks throughout the country were asked to monitor, share, and report information in much broader circumstances than had previously been required.
Enhanced due diligence and "know your customer" rules became even more important after the implementation of the USA Patriot Act. Customer identification and verification regulations, which apply to all customer accounts, were put in place by October 26, 2002.
As part of its commitment to fight terrorism, the Department initiated a money transmitter project with other states and federal law enforcement agencies. The goal was to target sources of terrorist funds by identifying individuals or accounts previously predicated through other terrorist investigations.
The Public/Private Sector Cyber Security Workgroup (Workgroup) chaired by William Pelgrin, Director of the New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination, comprises a talented cadre of representatives from government, academia and the private sector. Superintendent McCaul served as co-chair for the Financial and Economic Sector. To enhance the protection of critical financial infrastructure assets, the Workgroup has conducted outreach to foster an awareness of the need for continued vigilance regarding information system security.
