Review Detail

I think many advisors are still trying to play catch up with regards to data security and the new regulations on client privacy. These last two webinars did a great job at building awareness around these topics.

There certainly is a greater need for educating independent advisors on how to better protect themselves and their client data. Many folks aren't aware of this but NIST (National Institute of Standards and Testing) has partnered with the FBI and SBA (Small Business Administration) to also build awareness around IT Security. They sponsor free public workshops that are held all throughout the US. In '09 they only did this at a small number of locations but as they plan to expand the workshop in 2010 it may be something advisors can participate in should they be interested.

More information can be found on the following site:
www.csrc.nist.gov/groups/SMA/sbc/workshops.html


For those in need of immediate information NIST has also published a document in October of 2009 titled Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals. This is a very well written piece and goes into a number of areas regarding IT security. You can find the document by visiting the NIST website and searching on document number: NIST IR 7621.

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsNISTIRs.html