Upstate, statewide consumer sentiment rise slightly in Q4

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Consumer sentiment in upstate New York was measured at 64.0 in the fourth quarter of 2021, up 0.6 points from the last reading of 63.4 in the year’s third quarter. That’s according to the latest quarterly survey of Upstate and statewide consumer sentiment that the Siena College Research Institute (SRI) released Jan. 12. The 63.4 reading in […]

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Consumer sentiment in upstate New York was measured at 64.0 in the fourth quarter of 2021, up 0.6 points from the last reading of 63.4 in the year’s third quarter.

That’s according to the latest quarterly survey of Upstate and statewide consumer sentiment that the Siena College Research Institute (SRI) released Jan. 12.

The 63.4 reading in the third quarter represented Upstate’s lowest overall index since 2011.

Upstate’s overall sentiment of 64.0 in the fourth quarter was 9.1 points below the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 73.1, which rose 1.2 points from the third quarter.

The statewide figure was 5.7 points higher than the fourth-quarter figure of 67.4 for the entire nation, which was down 5.4 points from the third-quarter figure, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.

The overall and future indexes for New York each increased in the latest quarter and the future index is above the breakeven point at which optimism and pessimism balance. The current index decreased and is below breakeven. The national indexes all fell. New Yorkers are more optimistic about overall and future economic conditions than the nation as a whole.

After a precipitous fall in the 3rd quarter, consumer sentiment rose by a point as New Yorkers balance an ongoing decline in their current economic situation with an uptick in their long-range outlook, Don Levy, SRI director, said.

“Most noteworthy are concerns over the bite that gas and food are taking out of the budget as inflation has generated concerns over gasoline prices that we haven’t seen since March 2013 and food price worries not matched since July 2011,” Levy said. “These sticker shocks, felt especially hard by Upstaters, women and older residents, have driven New Yorkers’ current outlook back to just about the low we saw at the pandemic’s start. Only faith in a better tomorrow, which rose to equal where we stood a year ago, resulted in the one-point overall index increase,” Levy explained.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, buying plans rose 0.3 percentage points from the third quarter measure to 10.4 percent for homes and inched up 0.8 points to 25 percent for major home improvements. Buying plans fell 2.2 points to 16.9 percent for cars and trucks; slipped 2 points to 43.5 percent for consumer electronics; and dropped 2.1 points to 28.0 percent for furniture.

Gas and food prices

In SRI’s quarterly analysis of gas and food prices, 70 percent of Upstate respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, up from 58 percent in the third quarter of 2021 and 57 percent in the second quarter.

In addition, 61 percent of statewide respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly spending plans, up from 54 percent in both the third and second quarters of last year.

When asked about food prices, 75 percent of Upstate respondents indicated the price of groceries was having a serious effect on their finances, up from 65 percent in the third quarter and from 64 percent in the second quarter.

At the same time, 72 percent of statewide respondents indicated the price of food was having a serious impact on their monthly finances, up from 66 percent in the third quarter and 63 percent in the second quarter.

SRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment between Nov. 8 and Nov. 16 by random telephone calls to 395 New York adults via landline and cell phone. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, according to SRI.

VIEWPOINT: New York State’s Eviction Moratorium Has Expired

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New York State — the state with the highest share of renters in the United States — allowed its eviction moratorium to expire on Jan. 15. State officials enacted the Tenant Safe Harbor Act (TSHA) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and repeatedly extended it to the point where it became the second-longest statewide moratorium in the nation. The National Equity Atlas estimates that about 591,000 households in New York state are behind on rent. Now that the moratorium has officially expired, many landlords who have been unable to evict holdover tenants or tenants for nonpayment of rent — and, as a result, have lost substantial amounts of rental income during the pandemic — are looking to once again exercise their rights that have been placed on hold for nearly two years.

The Tenant Safe Harbor Act

Under the TSHA, any eviction proceeding against a tenant for the non-payment of rent or for holding over was stayed until Jan. 15, 2022, if the tenant submitted a COVID-19 hardship-declaration form. Initially, the submission of this hardship-declaration form served as conclusive, irrebuttable proof that the tenant suffered from an economic hardship imposed by the pandemic. However, the U.S. Supreme Court held that such conclusiveness raised unconstitutional implications for the due-process rights of landlords, which forced New York State to amend the TSHA to permit landlords to contest a tenant’s assertion of hardship during a hearing.

Under the amended TSHA, a landlord could evict a tenant despite the tenant’s submission of a completed hardship declaration form if the landlord established: (1) that the tenant was intentionally causing significant damage to the property or engaging in persistent and unreasonable behavior that infringed on the use and enjoyment of other tenants; or (2) that the tenant’s purported hardship did not exist. These limited grounds for eviction often failed in practice to provide property owners with the relief that they often sought. However, now that the TSHA’s eviction moratorium has expired, landlords no longer need to resort to the narrow confines of the TSHA’s limited grounds.

What should property owners do now?

If you are a landlord or represent one who attempted to evict a tenant during the moratorium, and that tenant submitted a completed hardship declaration form, you likely received an adjourned, tentative hearing date for Jan. 18, 2022 — the first business day following the moratorium’s then-anticipated expiration date of Jan. 15. Now that Jan. 15 has passed and the moratorium has officially expired, you likely will be contacted by the court in which your eviction petition is pending for the scheduling of your actual hearing date. We expect that such scheduling will occur chronologically, beginning with the landlords who filed their petitions earliest during the moratorium period. We recommend that if you do not hear from the court in the upcoming days, you call the clerk’s office to determine the status of your hearing.

Watch for future developments

As Gov. Kathy Hochul finds herself caught between the competing pressures of landlord groups and a progressive caucus of the state legislature, it is unclear how the future legal landscape in New York will develop regarding the rights of tenants and landlords. In 2019 and 2021, the state legislature tried but failed to enact “good cause eviction” requirements. A good-cause eviction law would limit the range of reasons for which landlords could evict tenants. Efforts to pass this form of legislation will likely be undertaken again this year. While Gov. Hochul has not disclosed her position on these types of requirements, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a new spotlight on the state’s landlord-tenant laws, and the expiration of the eviction moratorium places new pressure for action on elected officials in Albany. This is an area of law that will be closely watched throughout the new year.

Collin M. Carr is an associate attorney in the Syracuse office of Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC. He works in the firm’s litigation practice area and uses his legal research and writing skills to serve a wide array of clients in both state and federal court. Contact Carr at ccarr@bsk.com. This Viewpoint article is drawn and edited from the law firm’s website.

New York home sales slide nearly 15 percent in December

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ALBANY — New York realtors sold 13,649 previously owned homes in December, down 14.6 percent from the 15,974 homes sold a year ago, as inventory continued to fall. However, pending sales rose 4 percent in December, which points to a rise in closed home sales in forthcoming months. The data comes from the New York

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ALBANY — New York realtors sold 13,649 previously owned homes in December, down 14.6 percent from the 15,974 homes sold a year ago, as inventory continued to fall.

However, pending sales rose 4 percent in December, which points to a rise in closed home sales in forthcoming months.

The data comes from the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s December housing-market report issued Jan. 20.

New York sales data

Housing inventory in the Empire State plummeted 30.4 percent to close out 2021. Homes for sale fell to 30,654 units in December 2021 from 44,071 homes available in December 2020.

The months’ supply of inventory fell to just 2.3 months in the final month of 2021, a 30.4 percent drop from 3.7 months of supply available in December 2020. A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market, according to NYSAR.

Pending sales in New York totaled 10,494 homes in December, an increase of 4 percent from pending sales of 10,087 in the same month in 2020, according to the NYSAR data.

Amid the tight supply, house prices continued to chug higher. The December 2021 statewide median sales price rose 8.3 percent to $377,000 from the December 2020 median sales price of $348,000.

Central New York data

Realtors in Onondaga County sold 495 previously owned homes in December, down 16.8 percent from the 595 homes they sold in the same month in 2020. The median sales price jumped 12.1 percent to $185,000 from $165,000 a year prior, according to the NYSAR report.

Realtors sold 210 homes in Oneida County in December, up 4 percent compared to the 202 homes sold in December 2020. The median sales price increased more than 17 percent to nearly $182,000 from $155,000 in the year-earlier month.

Realtors in Broome County sold 186 existing homes in December, up 1.1 percent from 184 in December 2020, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price fell 3.8 percent to $139,500 from $145,000 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on the sale of 155 homes in December, down 0.6 percent from 156 a year prior, and the median sales price of nearly $194,000 was up almost 7 percent from $181,500 in December 2020, according to the NYSAR data.

All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York state and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.

SUNY Poly’s online cybersecurity master’s program ranked

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MARCY, N.Y. — SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) says its online master’s degree program in network and computer security: cybersecurity ranked among the top 50 in U.S. News & World Report’s “2022 Best Online Program” national rankings. The SUNY Poly program came in at number 48 in the listing of the top online colleges and

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Area expert offers tips to minimize cyberthreats

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ENDICOTT, N.Y. — The legions of employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic brought cybersecurity front and center as a business concern, and it’s an issue business owners need to address no matter where their employees are working from these days. In the early days of the pandemic as employers shifted to a heavily

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In the early days of the pandemic as employers shifted to a heavily home-based workforce, the focus was really on getting everyone up and running and keeping the business going smoothy, says David D’Agostino, director of 1nteger Security in Endicott. That shift, unfortunately, opened companies up to new avenues for cybersecurity attacks, he notes.

Two major cybersecurity threats include cloud computing and employees using personal devices to access corporate systems, D’Agostino points out. Both have been crucial to keeping employees productive and connected while they work from home. Other top cybersecurity threats include credential theft, ransomware attacks, and phishing/vishing/smishing.

“They’ll fool you into thinking you’re logging into your payroll account,” D’Agostino says as an example of how a phishing scam works. Phishing is one of the top threats, accounting for more than 80 percent of reported security incidents.

Once they gain access to your system, cyber criminals can exploit that information in a variety of ways, but most often will encrypt everything and charge businesses a ransom to gain back access to their own information. The average ransomware payment increased 82 percent over the past year to $570,000, D’Agostino notes.

“A lot of organizations carry what’s called cyber-liability insurance now,” he says. That has led to larger and larger ransom asks, especially when cyber criminals access Cloud platforms used during the pandemic — such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams — which are great for connecting people, D’Agostino says, but those services created new points of attack as well. Cloud platforms are not secure out of the gate, he says, and businesses may have neglected to add layers of protection.

While it might seem that businesses are being attacked on all fronts from phishing emails to website hacks, there are an array of actions firms can take to keep their systems and their information safe.

D’Agostino says the first step is to identify and fortify the weakest link. This could be employees accessing the system from home offices, he notes, and an easy way to add an extra layer of protection is to require users to use a two-factor authentication system. This typically involves sending a code or a push notification to another device, such as a cell phone, which needs to be with the user, before access is granted. It’s a simple way to prevent outsiders from accessing the system, he notes.

Other steps include using advanced antivirus protection, deploying backup policies, use the cloud to ensure remote file access, and test recovery strategies often. Cyber criminals are generally looking for an easy mark, D’Agostino says. Much like a burglar might move on when they see a sign denoting an alarm system, see security lights, or hear a barking dog, cyber criminals will move on if there are hurdles to easy access, he says.

There are many other tools businesses can utilize, but they can take a crawl, walk, run approach to things, D’Agostino says. They can start with a few small things such as providing end-user training and upgrading virus protection. Then companies should perform an in-depth risk analysis. “It’s important for business owners to understand their risk,” he says. The analysis allows businesses to develop a risk tolerance, knowing what assets must be protected the most.

Whether through an in-house network security expert or by outsourcing it to another company, this process should be a continual one, D’Agostino adds, because the threat landscape is constantly changing.

Headquartered in Endicott, 1nteger is a division of Integrated Computer Solutions (ICS), which employs more than 130 people at offices in Endicott, Syracuse, Ithaca, and Auburn, Mass. ICS is a provider of outsourced IT services, cybersecurity, communications, and remote-workforce solutions. 1nteger employs a team of about 30 people.

NYPA using Virginia firm’s product to defend key supply-chain partners

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Subscriber Only, Technology

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is using a Virginia cybersecurity firm’s product as it works to “secure the state of New York’s public-energy ecosystem.” IronNet, Inc. (NYSE:IRNT) on Jan. 13 announced its expanded partnership with NYPA, the nation’s largest state public-power organization. IronNet is a McLean, Virginia–based firm that says it works at “transforming cybersecurity through

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The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is using a Virginia cybersecurity firm’s product as it works to “secure the state of New York’s public-energy ecosystem.”

IronNet, Inc. (NYSE:IRNT) on Jan. 13 announced its expanded partnership with NYPA, the nation’s largest state public-power organization. IronNet is a McLean, Virginia–based firm that says it works at “transforming cybersecurity through collective defense.”

Supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS), NYPA’s adoption of IronNet’s Collective Defense product will enable New York municipal utilities, partners, and other relevant critical infrastructure state agencies to create a “dynamic, radar-like view of the attack landscape that provides visibility into a wider and deeper range of threats” across the state’s entire power grid, the company contended in a release.

Based on IronNet’s proprietary machine learning and artificial intelligence, the cloud-based cybersecurity product will provide collective-defense capabilities to NYPA and its key supply-chain partners to “strengthen the state’s ability to protect the grid through a unified cyber-defense strategy.”

“In the same way that utilities band together to provide mutual aid after damaging weather events, NYPA is making collaborative responses to cyberattacks possible,” Bill Welch, co-CEO of IronNet, said. “We are proud to work with NYPA to enable all public utility stakeholders to adopt a proactive defense against any cyber adversary with an eye on the grid — from criminal groups to nation-states.”

Powered by a network detection and response (or NDR) system that tracks network anomalies with behavioral analytics, NYPA’s key supply-chain partners can use IronNet’s collective-defense platform to “collaborate in real time to better detect and defend against attacks,” per the IronNet release. This approach “further enhances the resilience” of New York’s grid amidst the “escalating prevalence of attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure.”

“Given the rise of sophisticated cyberattacks, we need to help our municipal utilities implement a strong security program that can detect and mitigate attacks in real-time,” Victor Costanza, deputy chief information security officer at the New York Power Authority, said. “With the technologies provided by IronNet and AWS, the [information technology (IT)] and power infrastructures in NYPA’s supply-chain ecosystem can collect and share anonymized cyber-threat information so we can defend our enterprise networks collectively, raising the security posture of all of us throughout the state.”

Following the success of an initial pilot with five NYPA municipalities, the announcement of the expanded partnership will enable the remaining utility companies included in the NYPA supply chain to leverage IronNet’s advanced-threat detection capabilities as part of the NYPA collective-defense community.

Defenders of the state’s IT and power infrastructure will receive alerts on anomalous network behaviors correlated with other collective-defense participants from the U.S. energy sector at large.

In the event of a coordinated attack, the community also benefits from expert guidance from the top cybersecurity professionals of IronNet’s security-operations center, the company said.

Knepper to lead Cornell’s Center for Advanced Computing

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ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing (CAC) has a new director. Richard Knepper, who has been deputy director of CAC since 2017, started his new duties Jan. 24. He succeeds David Lifka, who led the CAC since 2007. Lifka will continue to serve as Cornell’s VP for information technologies and chief

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NYAG: EyeMed to pay $600K after 2020 data breach

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New York Attorney General Letitia names has fined EyeMed Vision Care $600,000 in an agreement that resolves a 2020 data breach that compromised the personal information of about 2.1 million consumers nationwide, including 98,632 people in New York. Cincinnati, Ohio–based EyeMed — which provides vision benefits to members of vision plans offered by both licensed

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Cincinnati, Ohio–based EyeMed — which provides vision benefits to members of vision plans offered by both licensed underwriters and employers — was hit with a data breach in which attackers gained access to an EyeMed email account with sensitive customer information, per a Jan. 24 news release from the attorney general’s office.

The compromised information included consumers’ names, mailing addresses, Social Security numbers, identification numbers for health and vision insurance accounts, medical diagnoses and conditions, and medical-treatment information. The intrusion permitted the attacker access to emails and attachments with “sensitive” customer information dating back six years prior to the attack.

“New Yorkers should have every assurance that their personal health information will remain private and protected,” James said. “EyeMed betrayed that trust by failing to keep an eye on its own security system, which in turn compromised the personal information of millions of individuals.”

EyeMed “neither admits nor denies” the findings of James’ office, per a document detailing the settlement agreement that was posted on the attorney general’s website.

Agreement terms

As part of the settlement, EyeMed has agreed to pay the state of New York $600,000 in penalties.

In addition, EyeMed is required to adopt a series of measures to protect consumers’ personal information from cyberattacks in the future.

They include maintaining a “comprehensive” information-security program that includes regular updates to keep pace with changes in technology and security threats, as well as regularly reporting to the company’s leadership any security risks.

The firm is also maintaining “reasonable” account management and authentication, including requiring the use of multi-factor authentication for all administrative or remote-access accounts, and reviewing such safeguards annually.

EyeMed is encrypting sensitive consumer information that it collects, stores, transmits, and/or maintains. It is also conducting a “reasonable” penetration-testing program designed to identify, assess, and remediate security vulnerabilities within the EyeMed network.

The company is also implementing and maintaining “appropriate” logging and monitoring of network activity that are accessible for a period of at least 90 days and stored for at least one year from the date the activity was logged.

EyeMed is also permanently deleting consumers’ personal information when it has no “reasonable” business or legal purpose to retain it.

About the attack

In June 2020, attacker(s) accessed an EyeMed email account, which company clients used to provide sensitive consumer data in connection with vision-benefits enrollment and coverage.

The intrusion, which lasted about a week, allowed the attacker to view emails and attachments dating back six years, including consumers’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and insurance account numbers, per James’ office.

In July 2020, the attacker sent about 2,000 phishing emails from the compromised email account to EyeMed clients, seeking login credentials for their accounts. EyeMed’s information-technology (IT) department noticed the phishing emails and also received inquiries from clients about these emails.

EyeMed then blocked the attacker’s access to its system and began investigating the intrusion.

In September 2020, the company began notifying affected consumers whose personal information was compromised during the breach. As part of the notification, the company offered affected customers identity-theft protection services.

James’ office determined that, at the time of the attack, EyeMed had “failed to implement” multifactor authentication for the affected email account, despite the fact that the account was accessible via a web browser and contained a large volume of consumers’ sensitive personal information. Additionally, EyeMed “failed to adequately implement” sufficient password-management requirements for the enrollment email account given those factors.

The company also “failed to maintain” adequate logging of its email accounts, which made it difficult to investigate security incidents, James’ office said.

Identity fraud predicted to grow in 2022

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The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) predicts that cyberthreats will shift from identity theft to identity fraud in 2022, especially through pandemic-related identity crimes. “In 2021, we saw threat actors become more targeted and strategic,” Eva Velazquez, president and CEO of ITRC, said in a release. “We saw them strike with social engineering scams like Google Voice

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The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) predicts that cyberthreats will shift from identity theft to identity fraud in 2022, especially through pandemic-related identity crimes.

“In 2021, we saw threat actors become more targeted and strategic,” Eva Velazquez, president and CEO of ITRC, said in a release. “We saw them strike with social engineering scams like Google Voice and Instagram account takeovers, using psychological tactics instead of technical expertise to manipulate people’s behavior. We also tracked a record number of data breaches and a steady flow of new victims of unemployment benefits identity fraud long after the enhanced benefits ended.”

Based on this, she says, the ITRC expects an increase in identity fraud that will change consumer behaviors, revictimization rates, and pandemic-related identity crimes for the next several years. In addition, alternative digital-payment methods such as payment apps, digital wallets, and peer-to-peer services will be a focus of cybercriminals.

The six trends ITRC expects to see in 2022 include:

• The shift from identity theft to identity fraud — the accumulation of personally identifiable information (PII) to the misuse of PII — will accelerate.

• Identity fraud will drive behavior change as consumers withdraw from certain interactions, transactions, and communication channels — such as online shopping, emails, or certain websites.

• The effects of pandemic-related fraud will continue into 2024, with new types of benefits fraud emerging this year.

• Malware is out and ransomware and supply-chain attacks are in. The ITRC believes ransomware may catch up to or surpass phishing-related breaches as the number-one cause of data breaches while supply-chain attacks will become the third most common.

• Revictimization rates will continue to increase. In 2021, 29 percent of those reporting incidents indicated they were repeat victims. In addition, incidents that target multiple individuals or organizations will impact greater numbers of victims and social-media account takeovers will leverage the followers to create new chains of victims.

• Cybercriminals will shift their focus as consumers turn toward alternative digital-payment forms instead of using debit and gift cards. As cryptocurrency transactions become more common, cybercriminals will focus on finding ways to scam consumers.

With all these trends, consumers and how they behave online play a huge role. Consumers must take the necessary steps to protect themselves from cybercrime through education and data protection.

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org) says it is a national nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, businesses, and government to minimize and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime.

Jefferson County hotels see 68 percent increase in occupancy in December

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WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Hotels in Jefferson County saw a flood of guests in December compared to the year-prior month, continuing the lodging industry’s bounce back from the pandemic, according to a new report. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county climbed 68.4 percent to 41.3 percent in December,

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