The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  has put standards in place to help protect consumer’s information. More specially to keep their information secure and confidential. Some states are legally requiring businesses to have a Written Information Security Program (WISP) that shows in detail the organization’s security controls, processes, and polices. In other words the WISP is the roadmap for the organization’s IT security. This is addressed to any business but mainly for those in the finance industry as well as the accounting industry. 

This includes:  

  • a business wires money regularly, 
  • a check cashing business, 
  • accountant or tax preparation services,
  • a business operates a travel agency in conjunction with a financial services, 
  • real estate settlement service, 
  • a mortgage broker, 
  • an investment advising company or 
  • credit counseling service. 

At the end of 2022 the FTC has revised their requirements to also include estate appraisers, car dealerships, and payday lenders in attention to the financial and accounting industry. These requirements are to go into effect June 9, 2023. Failure to put these safeguards in place could result in a hefty fine. 

The FTC requires nine elements that each company should include in order to fully implement these safeguards.

These include: 

  • Designate a Qualified Individual to implement and supervise your company’s information security program. 
  • Conduct a risk assessment
  • Design and implement safeguards to control the risk identified through your risk assessments
  • Regularly monitor and test the effectiveness of your safeguards
  • Train your staff
  • Monitor your service providers
  • Keep your information security programs current
  • Create a written incident response plan 
  • Require your Qualified Individual to report to your Board of Directors

If you are a part of any of these services or businesses above or are a part of the finance or accounting industries then the FTC section 134 applies to you. 

At Tri-State Computer Solutions we have taken all the necessary measures to ensure our staff fully understands the FTC section 134 rules and revisions. We understand the importance of wanting to have your customer’s information protected and want to help you not stress over all these new rules and regulations. Let us do the work for you to make sure you have all the requirements covered before the revision deadline. Contact us today at 973-436-0306!