Key Takeaways SOX requires publicly traded companies to retain financial records and related communications for a minimum of five years, with some record types requiring seven-year retention under overlapping rules. Sections 302, 404, and 802 are the three SOX provisions with the most direct impact on data retention and archiving. Non-compliance penalties include fines up […]
Why You Need WhatsApp Archiving for Business Compliance
Key Takeaways WhatsApp messages used for business are subject to the same retention and production rules as email under SEC, FINRA, HIPAA, FOIA, and MiFID II. WhatsApp’s native backup and export features lack metadata preservation, legal hold, centralized search and immutable storage, making them inadequate for regulatory compliance. Failure to archive WhatsApp has resulted in […]
Email Archiving for Financial Services: Regulations, Requirements, and Best Practices
Key Takeaways Financial services firms must archive all electronic communications, including email, SMS, chat and social media, under regulations like SEC Rule 17a-4, FINRA Rules 4511 and 3110, SOX and GLBA. Retention periods range from three to seven years, depending on the regulation and record type. A compliant archiving solution must support WORM-compliant storage, granular […]
What Is Data Archiving? Definition, Benefits, and Best Practices
Key Takeaways Data archiving moves inactive communications and records into secure, indexed, long-term storage, separate from production systems. Compliance with regulations like SOX, HIPAA, SEC Rule 17a-4, and FOIA is the primary driver for most organizations. A strong archiving strategy requires cross-department collaboration, automated retention policies, and defensible deletion workflows. The right archiving solution should […]
Data Retention Policy Explained: A Comprehensive Overview
Key Takeaways A data retention policy defines how long your organization stores each type of data and how you dispose of it when the retention period ends. State and industry regulations (HIPAA, SOX, FINRA, GDPR, FOIA) mandate specific retention periods, and non-compliance can result in fines, sanctions, or criminal liability. A strong policy covers data […]
Archiving Text Messages: Why It Matters for Compliance, Ediscovery, and Risk Management
Key Takeaways Text messages, calls, and mobile chats are legally recognized business records in most regulated industries. Regulations, including FINRA, SEC, HIPAA, GDPR, and FOIA, require organizations to retain and produce mobile communications. Failure to archive has led to billions in fines, particularly in financial services for off-channel messaging violations. Enterprise archiving solutions capture messages […]
Data Governance Strategy: Guide for Compliance-Driven Organizations
Key Takeaways Data governance is the system of policies, roles and processes that determines how your organization manages, protects and uses data throughout its lifecycle. A data governance strategy is a compliance requirement for regulated organizations that need to pass audits, respond to records requests and reduce legal exposure under HIPAA, FOIA, FERPA, SEC 17a-4, […]
10 Microsoft Outlook Alternatives
Microsoft reports that more than 430 million people use Microsoft 365 apps. That makes Outlook one of the most widely used email clients in the world. Teams pick it for enterprise-grade security, deep Office integrations, and a broad feature set, but the case for evaluating Outlook alternatives is stronger than it’s been in years. That […]
How to Deal with Social Media Defamation: Examples and Steps to Take
Key Takeaways Social media defamation occurs when someone publishes a false statement of fact online that harms another person’s or organization’s reputation. To be actionable, the statement must be false, published to a third party, and cause demonstrable harm. Preserve evidence immediately, including screenshots, URLs, timestamps, and metadata, before the content is edited or deleted. […]
Effective Email Retention Policy Best Practices for Staying Compliant
Key Takeaways An email retention policy defines how long an organization should keep emails before they can be deleted. In most industries, retention periods range from 1 to 7 years. Some emails must be kept longer or permanently, depending on the regulation and record type. The most common U.S. laws that require email retention are […]
