Financial Services

Data privacy is a critical concern in the financial services industry due to the sensitive nature of the data involved, which includes personal identification information (PII), financial records, and transaction details.

Compliance typically begins with understanding and adhering to relevant data protection laws and regulations. These can vary by country and region but often include regulations like the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), and various national laws governing data protection.

Financial institutions should only collect and retain the minimum amount of data necessary for their operations. This principle helps limit the potential impact of data breaches. Robust data security measures are crucial. This includes encryption of sensitive data, secure storage practices, access controls, and regular security audits to identify and address vulnerabilities.

Non-compliance with data privacy regulations in financial services can result in severe penalties, including fines, legal action, damage to reputation, and loss of customer trust.

Privacy Ref’s Rapid Privacy Program Assessment™ is the first step in identifying the organization’s information privacy needs. This involves an inventory of data being stored, a review of existing policy documents, and a lot of questions about current practices. A final report breaks down legal requirements into easy-to-understand tables and then utilizes other frameworks that make it simpler to be compliant.

Because laws, business models, competitors, and technology change over time, Privacy Ref offers cost effective annual assessments for established clients. When new projects arise, Privacy Ref can conduct privacy impact and risk assessments to address potential issues before they happen.

Privacy Ref’s knowledgeable team can act as an extension to the organization’s privacy team and act as advisors, supplementing the internal privacy team resources to keep the program running.

Want to find out more?

Go to our Contact Us page, email info@privacyref.com or call (888) 470-1528, our team will be happy to assist you.