By Hao Nguyen
Chief Legal Counsel
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to publish the amendments to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule in the Federal Register on November 13, 2023, which at the time of this writing, is less than four days away. This date is relevant because the new regulations become effective 180 days from the date of publishing, which would mean that the amendments are effective on May 13, 2024.
As a short reminder, the amendments cover the following:
- Electronic reporting of a “notification event” to the FTC within thirty (30) days of discovery
- A “notification event” occurs when the unencrypted information of 500 or more consumers is accessed without authorization
- The FTC has indicated this will trigger an investigation of the financial institution’s existing data protection and cybersecurity posture relative to the requirements of the Safeguards Rule
- Public post by the FTC that identifies the organization by name
The effective date will be upon us before you know it, so the time to act is now. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” and the fines, penalties, and reputation damage is not worth the wait.
Have a question about the Safeguards Rule? Unclear what “unencrypted” really means? Visit our website at https://www.complyauto.com or contact us at info@complyauto.com for more information.