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Security Compliance Mandates: Affecting Your BusinessWhat are these Government Regulations?The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Graham-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) impact different vertical industries and are all intended to ensure compliance in the areas of security, accountability and auditing of mission critical data. HIPAA, GLBA, and SOX are mandates that contain specific security requirements for industries such as Healthcare (HIPAA), Financial and Insurance Institutions (GLBA) and other businesses that manage any type of personal and private customer data. They all involve requirements for network security and premise-to-premise data encryption. Businesses are subject to strict implementation timelines and adherence to the policies which impose stiff penalties for violations. GLBA for example, is designed to protect individual information pertaining to financial records. This includes non-public personal information as well as personal financial information. GLBA impacts banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses and other financial institutions and advisors. HIPAA is designed to protect the privacy and integrity of individual healthcare records and SOX focuses on appropriate financial and accounting disclosure, and establishes new standards for Corporate Boards and Audit Committees, The primary objective of these mandates however, is to keep your data and your customer's data safe from prying eyes while it travels around the un-trusted, public Internet. Penalties for Non-ComplianceGovernment mandates can and do impose penalties to those businesses that do not have a security plan of action in place. Violations can result in fines up to $50,000 and/or one-year imprisonment. Regarding HIPAA, if a patient's health information is compromised, misused for commercial advantage, or is accidentally intercepted via the Internet; the fines can escalate to $250,000 with a 10 year prison term. GLBA non-compliance of GLBA mandates levy heavy fines of up to $100,000 and up to 5 years in prison per violation. Sanctions include terminating the organization's FDIC insurance, removing key individuals and possibly barring them from the industry. SOX penalties are the heftiest of all—fines of up to $5 million and/or 20 years in prison. Security is a prime business concern in today's Internet dependent business world. Therefore it is critical to employ a secure and encrypted internal network. Data integrity and appropriate authentication are key elements in conducting safe business transactions. Security is no longer a luxury; it is truly a necessity for all businesses using the Internet for transporting mission critical and private information. How Can Time Warner Telecom Help You Meet Your Compliance Needs?These regulations demand you clean and secure your own house. Entities with whom such data is exchanged must also be compliant. For instance, HIPAA impacts companies such as health plans, health care clearinghouses and health care providers—that transmit protected health information in electronic form. Financial institutions must ensure their partners will keep your data protected. Let Time Warner Telecom assist you in helping to meet your compliance requirements. Time Warner Telecom offers complete security management, access to security experts 7 x 24 x 365, and configuration consulting to companies of all sizes. For more information, contact your Time Warner Telecom account representative or e-mail sara.miller@twtelecom.com. |
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