In a two part series, Gail Nickel-Kailing discusses data privacy and security, summarizes the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and provides some advice for compliance by companies offering printing and mailing services to the financial industry. Today’s segment provides summaries of important legislation, and Part Two includes suggestions for privacy and security measures you can implement to comply with federal requirements.

In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sponsored an “Identity Theft” survey that highlighted the pervasiveness and seriousness of ID theft in the U.S. Based on the survey, the FTC estimates that almost 10 million Americans discovered they were the victims of some form of identity theft in the last year.

According to the Meta Group, provider of information technology research, advisory services, and strategic consulting, tells us that identity theft is the number one growth crime and the top form of cyber crime in the U.S. today. According to Meta’s Paul Procter, Vice President, Security and Risk Strategies, privacy continues to be an issue for international organizations, resulting in increased interest in content monitoring, leak prevention, and sensitive data identification and protection.