Cisco and Zones – a winning team to bolster security and compliance

The challenge of security fortification is one that never truly goes away. Cybersecurity threats are always evolving, and so too must your organization’s strategy for staying safe. And, it’s important to note, compliance works much the same way – regulatory guidelines on how to store and secure consumer data are always in flux, and as the rules change, the onus is on you to adapt your IT accordingly.

Case in point: On June 9, 2023, organizations face a new deadline to comply with cybersecurity rule changes imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to the new FTC Safeguards Rule, affected enterprises – especially smaller businesses – are under pressure to ensure their security measures are adequately protecting customer information. The enforcement of this rule has been delayed by over a year because of interruptions brought on by COVID-19 and resulting supply chain issues, but this spring, change is inevitably coming.

Here’s what the new Safeguards Rule requires:

• The definition of a "financial institution" has been broadened to include more organizations that handle consumers' financial data.
• Organizations are required to appoint a "qualified individual" responsible for overseeing information security.
• Organizations are required to conduct written risk assessments, as well as create written incident response plans.
• New elements of an effective Safeguards program include data encryption and multi-factor authentication.

For corporate IT leaders, the first step is to find the answer to a basic question: Does the new FTC Safeguards Rule affect you? And in a lot of cases, the answer is yes. As the definition of a financial institution broadens, a number of different types of businesses are going to face pressure to change the way they handle people’s financial data. These may include mortgage brokers, wire transferrers, mortgage lenders, credit counselors, investment advisors, travel agencies, and many more. And with the expanded security rules in place, these institutions may have to take significant steps to secure their data.

The good news is, Cisco has a solution to help make all of this easier. Cisco Duo is a cloud-based security solution that integrates easily with your existing IT infrastructure, enabling you to roll out a security strategy enterprise-wide. Your organization can meet compliance deadlines quickly, enjoy fantastic ease of use, and revolutionize your security approach to ensure it frustrates hackers, not end users. Duo’s push solution allows employees to authenticate quickly and easily with one tap on a mobile device – meaning, from now on, your security will be airtight yet frictionless.

And at Zones, we are eager to work alongside Cisco to roll out Duo and other invaluable security tools for our clients. We are a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, which means we’ve attained the highest possible level of Cisco partnership, and we know better than anyone how to build a secure, successful business using Cisco technologies. 

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If you’d like to discuss how Cisco IT solutions and Zones services can benefit your organization, get in touch.