Updated regulations from the Federal Trade Commission will impact automotive, RV and powersports dealers nationwide starting next month. The significantly expanded requirements, found in the final amendments to the FTC’s Safeguard Rule, set stringent requirements for information security practices. Accelerate2Compliance (A2C), an organization that provides information security solutions to dealers, is offering a simple and affordable solution.
“We are committed to providing dealerships with simple solutions to build and manage information security programs,” said A2C CEO Greg Pfleider. “Today, many dealers aren’t ready for the changes and don’t have the infrastructure to tackle them on their own. The beauty of our model is its simplicity. We’ve taken an arduous, painstaking regulatory requirements and made it easy for dealers to understand and implement.”
The A2C program to help dealers comply with regulations is built on four pillars:
Identifying information security compliance risk. The A2C solution helps dealers assess their exposure across their digital infrastructure to mitigate risk and limit liability from potential cyber-attacks, leaks, and compliance infractions. A2C provides a dashboard highlighting where changes are needed.
Implementing policies and procedures. The A2C platform provides templates tailored for documenting and implementing written policies and procedures surrounding the collection, storage and communication of consumer private data.
Delivering ongoing training and testing. It is required for dealers to maintain its awareness and adherence to FTC Safeguard regulations. A2C provides thorough, on-demand information security awareness training to staff, with ongoing monitoring and reporting.
Assessing vendor vulnerabilities. Vendors who are party to the data chain of custody must also do their part in keeping consumers private information secured. The A2C vendor assessments provides detailed analytics of a dealer’s vendor network and their information security compliance posture.
Collecting and analyzing data from customers is essential to automotive dealership operations, but many dealers sail uncharted waters where data privacy and security are concerned. Dealerships can be slow to adapt to ever changing regulatory oversite, leaving them vulnerable to cyber intrusions.
Dealerships who do not follow the new FTC requirements, and whose data is compromised, could face a $47,000 fine just to start and typically experience customer declines, serious brand degradation and more. Additionally, dealers not complying with FTC rules may face expensive and cumbersome regulatory actions, including Consent Orders that carry the force of law.
“A lot of dealers worry they won’t be in compliance because they don’t understand the regulations,” said Pfleider. “Our solution facilitates the basic blocking and tackling of information security compliance. Not only does it make the rules easy to understand, it provides concrete proof they have been followed.”
