Pat Clawson, CEO of the Blancco Technology Group commented in response to a US court’s decision to affirm the Federal Trade Commission’s authority over data security practices.
[su_note note_color=”#ffffcc” text_color=”#00000″]Pat Clawson, CEO of the Blancco Technology Group :
“I think it’s pretty significant that the FTC is exerting more of its power in matters related to data breaches. At first glance, this seems like a win-win-win for all involved. There’s no doubt it’s a positive thing for consumers whose data is collected, stored and tracked by companies. They can rest assured that businesses will be held accountable for the data they collect and store on them. And for governments, it proves to its local citizens that they’re not playing favorites with businesses or playing the “look the other way and ignore” game. And for businesses, it’s another way to keep customers happy, loyal, buying more items more frequently, referring business and even sharing positive reviews online.
But it will also inevitably lead to a great deal of tension between the government body doing the enforcing and the businesses being held under tighter scrutiny. But the good news is that it doesn’t have to go down this way. For this policy to work out well for both sides, I’d strongly advise that the FTC write and adopt very specific rules around what, how and when businesses and governments should communicate with each other in relation to the data in question.
The FTC isn’t going to back down any time soon. In a decade’s time, the agency has investigated data breaches and in the last year alone, it’s brought cases against major companies like Snapchat, Fandango and Credit Karma. But – and this is important for businesses to understand – the agency has also said openly that it’s more trusting and willing to work together towards a resolution with a company ‘that has reported a breach to the appropriate law enforcers and cooperated with them.’ So, setting up written parameters around how those steps are taken – and the subsequent communication around it – could very well impact which businesses fall into the good graces of the FTC and which ones become top targets for investigation and court cases.”[/su_note][su_box title=”About Blancco Technology Group” style=”noise” box_color=”#336588″]
Blancco Technology Group help clients’ customers test, diagnose, repair and repurpose IT devices with the most proven and certified software. Our clientele consists of equipment manufacturers, mobile network operators, retailers, financial institutions, healthcare providers and government organizations worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, United States, with a distributed workforce and customer base across the globe. Blancco, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is the global de facto standard in certified data erasure. We provide thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail. Xcaliber Technologies, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is a global innovator in mobile device diagnostics. SmartChk is a multi-channel solution that enables consistent, accurate and measurable diagnostics of Smartphones and Tablets in all stages of Customer Care and the Reverse Supply Chain.[/su_box]
