Cybersecurity compliance goes beyond installing firewalls. Are you doing enough to meet the FTC’s requirements and safeguard customer data?
When was the last time you updated your cybersecurity policy? Are you sure you’re fully protecting customer data? Business owners often assume their systems are secure until a compliance audit reveals critical gaps. By then, it’s often too late to act. Class action lawsuits, steep fines, and reputational loss quickly follow shortly after. You can avoid these dreaded scenarios through proactive cybersecurity compliance.
If you’re unfamiliar with the FTC Safeguards Rule, this regulation is part of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which governs how financial institutions handle personally identifiable records in today’s evolving threat landscape.
The rule emphasizes establishing robust physical, technical, and administrative measures to prevent unauthorized customer data access, disclosure, or modification. Even SMBs outside the financial sector could fall under its jurisdiction.
Here’s everything you should know about the FTC Safeguards Rule, customer data protection, and cybersecurity compliance in 2025 and beyond.
Are You Required to Comply with the FTC Safeguards Rule?
Do you consider your company a financial institution? Many SMB owners don’t—until they discover compliance is mandatory. And not through any fault of their own—the FTC’s definition of a financial institution is broad and sometimes difficult to interpret.
Traditionally, you’d categorize yourself as a financial business only if you offer financial products or services. However, the rule’s definition now includes companies facilitating significant third-party financial transactions.
If you help customers find loans, process payments, provide financial advice, handle credit reports, or collect financial data on over 5,000 customers, the FTC will likely consider you a financial institution.
Examples of affected businesses include:
- Accounting and tax preparation firms
- Mortgage, payday, or credit lenders
- Investment advisories
- Debt collection agencies
- Automotive dealerships
- Real estate appraisal and settlement companies
- Wire transfer services
- Check cashing services
- Businesses connecting sellers and buyers to negotiate and settle transactions
It’s worth noting that the FTC constantly updates its definition of a financial institution as digital transformation shapes the business landscape. Even if you aren’t currently subject to oversight, you may be in the future.
For instance, in 2021, the regulator added a new category of institutions called “finders” to its jurisdiction. This change means businesses that charge a fee to connect lenders with loans or buyers with sellers must also comply with the Safeguards Rule.
If you’re unsure whether your business needs to comply with the Safeguards Rule, consult the FTC’s website or contact your I.T. provider for guidance.
What Does the FTC Expect From You?
Does compliance stop at firewalls and antivirus software? Absolutely not. Here’s the short answer: you’ll need to do much more.
The FTC requires you to take these actions:
- Develop a written information security program: You need a formal, well-documented plan outlining how your business will safeguard customer information based on its unique risk environment.
- Implement practical security controls for the modern threat landscape: Measures like multi-factor authentication, network segmentation, data encryption, and secure data disposal are essential for compliance.
- Conduct regular risk assessments: You must continuously inventory your technology ecosystem, including third-party systems linked to customer information, to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities as they emerge.
Additionally, you must appoint a qualified individual to execute your security policy meticulously to ensure the bad guys can never access, disclose, or modify any information in your database. This role can be outsourced to a managed services provider, but your organization remains accountable in the eyes of the FTC. So, you’ll need a reliable I.T. partner to ensure no compliance risks slip through the cracks.
Learn more about choosing a managed services provider.
How Can You Ensure Cybersecurity Compliance?
What’s the best approach to complying with the FTC Safeguard Rule? Where do you start? How do you determine the scope of customer information requiring protection and the most appropriate safeguards? Navigating compliance can be nerve-wracking even for savvy business owners. But with the right strategy, it doesn’t have to be.
Here are five steps to cybersecurity compliance:
- Identify all assets with access to customer data, including former vendors.
- For each data category, map the flow of customer information across its entire life cycle. Where is it collected, stored, transmitted, and destroyed?
- Assess which regions of the information ecosystem are most vulnerable to compromises.
- Deploy necessary remediation responses for each critical risk threatening customer data safety.
- Continuously monitor your internal and third-party attack surface to promptly identify and thwart vulnerabilities that could lead to a breach. Additionally, conduct periodic audits of your security controls to ensure they are always resilient.
Remember to keep detailed records of your risk assessments and security updates. This documentation will be your best defense during an FTC investigation.
Don’t Wait for an Audit or Breach To Act
Violations attract $100,000 in fines, up to five years imprisonment in severe cases, and unrecoverable loss of reputation. Will you wait and hope never to get breached or fall under the FTC’s radar? Your customers trust you with their sensitive information. Ensure their trust is well-placed by aligning your security program with the FTC Safeguards Rule.
At Attentus, trustworthiness is more than a promise—it’s one of our core values. We’re proud to have earned lasting relationships with our clients, reflected in our 10-year retention rate and 98% customer satisfaction rating. This dedication to building trust extends to helping you safeguard your customers’ data and strengthen their confidence in your business.
Let us help you implement a solid security program to protect customer data and pass every FTC audit with flying colors. Start your journey towards cybersecurity compliance now with a custom consultation.
