SA International (SAi), the leading provider of solutions for the professional signmaking, wide-format digital printing and CAD/CAM for CNC machining industries, is pleased to announce that it received Safe Harbor certification from the US Department of Commerce acknowledging compliance with the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework and the US-Swiss Safe Harbor Framework. 

SAi’s customers may take assurance from these certifications because it offers them an internationally agreed level of data protection processes and protocols. Since the European Commission’s Directive on Data Protection went into effect in 1998, EU citizens’ personal data has been protected by law from misuse.

Initially, this hampered foreign-based companies from collecting and using data from the EU for even legitimate purposes. To provide a bridge between the data protection regulations of the EU and the US, the “Safe Harbor” framework was developed by the US Department of Commerce in consultation with the EU. Under this framework, data collected from EU (and, under a similar protocol, Swiss) citizens by Safe Harbor-certified companies will know how their data is being protected, and have a defined route for resolving disputes.

“With increasing concerns of hacking, identity theft and outright industrial espionage, being able to reassure our customers of the safety of their data is important to SAi,” said Sarit Tichon, Senior VP, Worldwide Sales & Marketing at SAi. “We appreciate the concerns that our customers have about using cloud solutions, like SAi’s Flexi Cloud, and online services linked to the International Sign and Printmakers Guild which may use personal and company information in order to function.

“I hope that customers who may have been hesitant to use these and other SAi online services will take the time to look at some of the information available on Safe Harbor protection measures, and no longer be deterred from SAi web and cloud-based services,” she concluded.

Companies that are Safe Harbor certified display the Safe Harbor Certification mark demonstrating that their privacy policies have been recognized by the US Department of Commerce.