Tag: Data Security

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Data Security

Safeguarding Your Data

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Safeguards Rule goes into effect June 9, 2023. Did that date sneak up on you? Will your dealership be compliant, or is your team still trying to figure out what IT upgrades are needed to secure private customer data? Let’s breakdown the Safeguards Rule, see how it impacts your dealership and outline steps to consider while working on this compliance initiative. If you’d like another source of information to share with your team, check out EFG’s latest F&I Talk Outside the Box podcast.

Originally enacted in 2003, the FTC amended the Safeguards rule in 2021, but extended the deadline for compliance to June 9th of this year, giving dealerships more time to incorporate the needed equipment and procedures. Specifically, the new requirements include:

  • Designate a qualified individual to oversee your information security program.
  • Develop a written risk assessment.
  • Limit and monitor who can access sensitive customer information.
  • Encrypt all sensitive information.
  • Implement ongoing security personnel training.
  • Develop an incident response plan.
  • Perform periodic assessments of service provider security practices.
  • Implement multi-factor authentication, or another method with equivalent protection, for any individual accessing customer information.

That’s a lot to absorb! Let’s focus on the key component of data security.

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Data Lockdown

Contributing Author:
Maurice Hamilton
Vice President
EFG Companies

According to their the 2019 MidYear QuickView Data Breach Report published by Cyber Risk Analytics, 3,800 publicly disclosed data breaches occurred in the first six months of 2019, exposing up to 4.1 billion records. This represented a 50% increase over the last four years.

Last week, Experian issued their Data Breach Industry Forecast for 2020, reflecting on the state of cyber security. Their primary takeaway – while a data breach is probably inevitable, companies must prioritize prevention as well as response.

Regardless of the industry, as companies increase their reliance on technology to house personal, confidential information, data breach attempts are expected to increase as well.

For the last 10 to 15 years, dealers have steadily increased the role technology plays in the dealership. Now, they not only use technology to preserve digital records of every piece of paperwork generated in the dealership, but dealers also rely on sophisticated platforms to submit and receive loan applications, rate products, process claims, and more.

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Data Security

Are You Ready for a Data Breach?

Contributing Author:
Maurice Hamilton
Vice President
EFG Companies

Experian’s Data Breach Resolution Group, a division of the consumer credit reporting company, recently issued their 2019 Data Breach Industry Forecast. While the report was full of important information, it made me wonder if the retail automotive industry is suffering from “Hurricane Syndrome.” You know the scenario. Weeks in advance, the weather pundits issue warnings that a hurricane is coming. Only a few people pay attention. A week before landfall, the cone of probability is posted. Most people continue to go about their business. Two days before landfall, winds are picking up and early rain bands are hitting. Some people might check the pantry and fuel gauge. Then the hurricane hits with full fury, flooding ensues, roofs are blown off, and emergency services are tapped out. In the aftermath, local news reporters interview victims who say, “We didn’t think it would be that bad!” 

It’s been 13 years since the first major data breach impacted a US financial institution. According to the Experian report, the scale of data breaches in 2018 was staggering, with the number of compromised records in the first half of 2018 exceeding those for the entire previous year. Despite major security advancements, cybercriminals and black-hat hackers continue to wreak havoc on businesses. With automotive dealers and lenders moving further toward online sales, the risk of a data breach increases exponentially. While the industry must embrace this growing trend, dealers must also break out of their own data security Hurricane Syndrome.  

While the Experian report is broad reaching, two predictions have specific application to retail automotive.  

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