[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 151 (Monday, August 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48224-48225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16872]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency


Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection 
Renewal; Submission for OMB Review; FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The OCC, on behalf of itself, the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) 
(collectively, the Agencies), as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies to comment on a continuing information 
collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In 
accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the Agencies may not 
conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, 
an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting 
comment on behalf of the Agencies concerning renewal of the information 
collection titled, ``FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool'' 
(Assessment). The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the 
collection to OMB for review. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or 
before September 7, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if 
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment 
Processing, 1557-0328, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 
7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219.
     Fax: (571) 465-4326.
    Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and 
``1557-0328'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will publish 
comments on www.reginfo.gov without change, including any business or 
personal information provided, such as name and address information, 
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including 
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public 
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information 
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential 
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should also be sent within 30 days of publication of this 
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    On May 31, 2022, the OCC published a 60-day notice for this 
information collection, 87 FR 32497. You may review comments and other 
related materials that pertain to this information collection following 
the close of the 30-day comment period for this notice by the method 
set forth in the next bullet.
     Viewing Comments Electronically: Go to www.reginfo.gov. 
Hover over the ``Information Collection Review'' tab and click on 
``Information Collection Review'' from the drop-down menu. From the 
``Currently under Review'' drop-down menu, select ``Department of 
Treasury'' and then click ``submit.'' This information collection can 
be located by searching by OMB control number ``1557-0328'' or ``FFIEC 
Cybersecurity Assessment Tool.'' Upon finding the appropriate 
information collection, click on the related ``ICR Reference Number.'' 
On the next screen, select ``View Supporting Statement and Other 
Documents'' and then click on the link to any comment listed at the 
bottom of the screen.
     For assistance in navigating www.reginfo.gov, please 
contact the Regulatory Information Service Center at (202) 482-7340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance 
Officer, Chief Counsel's Office, (202) 649-5490, Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay 
services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 
Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is 
defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency 
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. The definition 
contained

[[Page 48225]]

in 5 CFR 1320.3(c) also includes a voluntary collection. The OCC asks 
that OMB extend its approval of the collection in this notice.
    Title: FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool.
    OMB Number: 1557-0328.
    Description: Cyber threats continue to evolve and increase in 
frequency and sophistication. Financial institutions \1\ are exposed to 
cyber risks because they are dependent on information technology to 
deliver services to consumers and businesses every day. Cyberattacks on 
financial institutions may result in unauthorized access to, and the 
compromise of, confidential information, as well as the destruction of 
critical data and systems. Disruption, degradation, or unauthorized 
alteration of information and systems can affect a financial 
institution's operations and core processes and undermine confidence in 
the nation's financial services sector. Absent immediate attention to 
these rapidly increasing threats, individual financial institutions and 
the whole financial sector are at risk.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ For purposes of this information collection, the term 
``financial institution'' includes banks, savings associations, 
credit unions, and bank holding companies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For this reason, the Agencies, under the auspices of the Federal 
Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), have worked 
diligently to assess and enhance the state of the financial industry's 
cyber preparedness and to improve the Agencies' examination procedures 
and training to strengthen the oversight of financial industry 
cybersecurity readiness. The Agencies also have focused on providing 
financial institutions with resources that can assist in protecting 
them and their customers from the growing risks posed by cyberattacks.
    As part of these efforts, the Agencies, with the other FFIEC 
members, developed the Assessment to assist financial institutions of 
all sizes in assessing their inherent cyber risks and their risk 
management capabilities. The Assessment allows a financial institution 
to identify its inherent cyber risk profile based on technologies and 
connection types, delivery channels, online/mobile products and 
technology services, organizational characteristics, and cyber threats 
it is likely to face. Once a financial institution identifies its 
inherent cyber risk profile, it can use the Assessment's maturity 
matrix to evaluate its level of cybersecurity preparedness based on its 
cyber risk management and oversight, threat intelligence and 
collaboration, cybersecurity controls, external dependency management, 
and cyber incident management and resiliency planning. A financial 
institution may use the matrix's maturity levels to identify 
opportunities for improving its cyber risk management based on its 
inherent risk profile. The Assessment also enables a financial 
institution to rapidly identify areas that could improve the financial 
institution's cyber response programs, as appropriate. Use of the 
Assessment by financial institutions is voluntary.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit.
    Burden Estimates:
    Number of Respondents: 12,781.
    Total Burden: 1,154,540 hours.
    On May 31, 2022, the OCC published a notice for 60 days of comment 
concerning this collection, 87 FR 32497. The OCC received one comment 
from a trade association, which generally recognized that the 
Assessment may be a useful tool for community banks and included 
several recommendations for consideration. First, the commenter stated 
that use of the Assessment should remain voluntary and that 
institutions should not be required to use a specific tool or to switch 
tools.
    Financial institution's use of the Assessment is voluntary. While 
FFIEC members have emphasized the benefits of using a standardized 
approach to assess and improve cybersecurity preparedness, they have 
also recognized that institutions may choose from a variety of 
standardized tools aligned with industry standards and best practices 
to assess their cybersecurity preparedness.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ ``FFIEC Encourages Standardized Approach to Assessing 
Cybersecurity Preparedness,'' FFIEC Press Release, August 28, 2019, 
available at https://www.ffiec.gov/press/pr082819.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The commenter also suggested that the Agencies work with the trade 
association and community banks to update the Assessment, including to 
improve understanding by and education for senior leaders and boards of 
directors, who may not be information technology specialists.
    The Agencies appreciate the commenter's feedback and are 
continually seeking ways to update and improve the tools they use to 
assess cybersecurity. For example, in response to requests, the 
Agencies, with the other members of the FFIEC, updated the Assessment 
to expand the response options for each declarative statement in the 
maturity matrix.\3\ Similarly, feedback from commenters informed the 
development of frequently asked questions.\4\ In addition, several 
other resources are available to assist financial institutions in using 
the Assessment efficiently, including an ``Overview for Chief Executive 
Officers and Boards of Directors'' that provides an executive summary 
of the Assessment and identifies questions that financial institution 
boards and senior management may ask.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ ``FFIEC Release Update to Cybersecurity Assessment Tool,'' 
FFIEC Press Release, May 31, 2017, available at https://www.ffiec.gov/press/pr053117.htm (explaining that the additional 
response options would allow ``financial institution management to 
include supplementary or complementary behaviors, practices and 
processes that represent current practices of the institution in 
supporting its cybersecurity activity assessment'').
    \4\ ``FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool: Frequently Asked 
Questions,'' October 17, 2016, available at https://www.ffiec.gov/pdf/cybersecurity/FFIEC_CAT%20FAQs.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, the commenter suggested that the Agencies provide non-
attributable reports and statistical analysis based on information 
collected by the Agencies. Since use of the Assessment by financial 
institutions is voluntary and may vary across financial institutions, 
the Agencies do not to intend to publish or otherwise make publicly 
available the results of financial institutions' use of the Assessment. 
However, through the FFIEC, the Agencies regularly issue statements and 
alerts regarding threats and vulnerabilities and provide additional 
resources.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ Refer to the ``Cybersecurity Awareness'' page on the FFIEC's 
website, available at https://www.ffiec.gov/cybersecurity.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Comments continue to be invited on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Agencies, including whether 
the information has practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the Agencies' estimates of the burden of the 
collection of information;
    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and
    (e) Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

Theodore J. Dowd,
Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2022-16872 Filed 8-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P