CFTC Outlines GLB Act Privacy Best Practices

Gramm-Leach-Bliley CFTC Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

Recently, the CFTC’s Division of Swaps Oversight issued Staff Advisory No. 14-21, which recommends best practices for CFTC-regulated intermediaries to comply with applicable Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act privacy requirements, consistent with the Division’s intention to focus more resources on GLB privacy compliance. The advisory states that its recommendations are generally consistent with guidelines and regulations issued by other federal financial regulators, and the majority of the specific best practices are supported with references to prior rules and guidance.  A number of the best practices cite the Interagency Guidelines Establishing Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information and Rescission of Year 2000 Standards for Safety and Soundness and a parallel FTC rule. Notably, several of the recommendations rely on a rule proposed by the SEC in 2008 but which has not yet been finalized. For example, the CFTC recommends based on that SEC proposal and the Interagency Guidelines that covered entities establish a breach investigation and notice process to alert potentially impacted individuals and to notify the CFTC. In addition, without referencing any other federal rule or guidance the Staff Advisory recommends that covered entities engage at least once every two years an independent party to test and monitor the safeguards’ controls, systems, policies and procedures, maintaining written records of the effectiveness of the controls.