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April 2024 » thefivestar.com 69 April 2024 J O U R N A L measures in projects that are already in the process of being recapitalized. » GRRP Leading Edge provides funding to owners with plans for ambitious retrofit activities to achieve zero energy retrofits and an advanced green certi- fication. » GRRP Comprehensive provides funding to properties with the highest need for climate resilience and utility efficiency upgrades, regardless of prior development or environmental retrofit experience. The grants and loans announced are the second set of awards that HUD has made under the GRRP's Leading Edge category, which requires prop- erty owners to commit to achieving recognized high-performance green building certifications, such as the National Green Building Standard's Gold certification with the Green+ Net Zero Energy designation. The certifications recognize significant property upgrades, such as on-site solar power generation, wind turbines, impact- and wind-re- sistant roofing, and other substantial energy efficiency and climate resilience improvements. "Far too many Americans struggle to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer," said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. "Today's awards from the Department of Housing and Urban De- velopment will boost the quality of life for thousands of low-income American families by making their homes safer and more comfortable." The Inflation Reduction Act also established HUD's Energy and Wa- ter Benchmarking Service, which is available now for properties receiving rental assistance from its Multifamily project-based programs. This service pro- vides participating multifamily property owners with data on energy and water consumption at their properties to aid in identifying opportunities to improve efficiency. Property owners can also use the Energy and Water Benchmarking information to assess rehabilitation efforts that may be eligible for grant or loan funding under the GRRP or other sources of funding. The 10 properties receiving Leading Edge awards represent a mix of property sizes. The majority are supported by HUD's Multifamily Section 8 proj- ect-based rental assistance program. Six of the properties have between 100 and 200 affordable rental homes, while two properties are smaller than 100 homes. One property, supported by HUD's Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program for low-income seniors, has 44 homes. HUD recently partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Health and Hu- man Services (HHS) on two agreements to further their "whole of government" approach to strengthen these agencies' shared work in ensuring that children— especially those at substantial risk—are not exposed to human health risks from lead hazards. These two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) support com- mitments made in the Lead and Paint Action Plan, EPA's Strategic Plan, HUD's Strategic Plan, and HHS' Strategic Plan, which seek to reduce lead exposures locally with a focus on underserved com- munities and promote environmental justice through a whole of government approach. GINNIE MAE'S NEW CYBERSECURITY RULES G innie Mae has announced the implementation of new Cyberse- curity Incident reporting require- ments in All Participants Memorandum (APM) 24-02. These requirements are part of Ginnie Mae's continued com- mitment to the security and integrity of all operational systems and critical technology infrastructure related to the issuance and servicing of Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS). Through APM 24-02: Cybersecurity Incident Notification Requirement, issuers must notify Ginnie Mae of a cyber security incident within 48 hours of detection. A Cybersecurity Incident is defined as any unauthorized access to, or use, disclosure, alteration, transfer, or destruction of, confidential information or non-public personal information (NPI) that may impact the Issuer's ability to meet its obligations under the terms of the Guaranty Agreement. Issuers who subservice for others are required to notify Ginnie Mae whether the incident occurred to their own portfolio and/or one or more subserviced portfolios. Once the notification is received, representatives from Ginnie Mae will contact the designated point of contact to obtain additional information and establish the level of engagement needed depending on the scope and nature of the incident. "These Cybersecurity Incident Reporting requirements are an import- ant part of managing cyber risk that could impact our program," Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo said. "Prompt and clear communication is critical to managing cybersecurity events as they unfold. This new requirement is a crucial step in further enhancing our cyberse- curity framework to meet current and future needs." Ginnie Mae's new Cybersecurity In- cident APM is part of its comprehensive approach to augmenting its cybersecu- rity protocols, with the intent of further refining its organization-wide informa- tion security, business continuity, and reporting requirements. Ginnie Mae issuing APM 24-02 comes just weeks after loanDepot reported that it fell victim to a cyber-at- tack on January 8. In a release on the incident, loanDepot reported that an unauthorized third party gained access to the sensitive personal information of approximately 16.6 million individuals in its systems. The company has notified these individuals and offered credit mon- itoring and identity protection services at no cost to them. "Unfortunately, we live in a world where these types of attacks are increas- ingly frequent and sophisticated, and our industry has not been spared. We sin- cerely regret any impact to our custom- ers," loanDepot CEO Frank Martell said. "The entire loanDepot team has worked tirelessly throughout this incident to support our customers, our partners, and