InfoSight Inc., a provider of cyber security, regulatory compliance and security awareness training, has partnered with NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals to help mortgage brokers safeguard the personal information of their customers and ensure compliance with new regulations imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The strategic partnership was established in response to a new mortgage disclosure rule, mandated by the CFPB, making it mandatory for creditors and their agents to safeguard non-public personal information (NPI) through the use of secure e-mail exchanges. The rule, which became effective Oct. 3rd, 2015, results from organized cybercrime groups who find mortgage brokerages an attractive target. Mortgage companies, big and small, must take extra care with information-sharing practices that can put their customer's personal and financial information at risk for theft. Should a cyber-criminal gain access to mortgage applications by compromising network controls or intercepting email, they could use the information, such as W-2 forms and tax returns, to perpetrate identity theft.
"We want our members to get ahead before the CFPB rule prohibiting unsecure email exchanges containing NPI is enforced this fall," said NAMB's Vice Chair of Government Affairs Fred Kreger. "NAMB members will benefit greatly from the education and guidance offered by InfoSight through this partnership. Not only will NAMB members learn about email security solutions, but they'll gain a greater understanding of information security best practices which will serve to improve their brokerage's overall security posture."
InfoSight is offering NAMB members guidance on e-mail encryption solutions, network security monitoring and management, and cyber security awareness training for brokerages and their staff. NAMB members can also attend free educational Webinars and annual Anti-Money Laundering (AML) training, presented by InfoSight, to help enable brokerages to ensure the safety of customer information in transit, to protect their own network systems from breach, and to ensure compliance with the CFPB rules.
"Implementing a layered security model can be relatively inexpensive and will greatly improve network security," said InfoSight President and CEO Tom Garcia. "If done properly, security awareness training can also greatly improve protection. Any weak link in physical, logical or social information security processes can expose people to unnecessary risk. It can take years to recover from identify theft but only minutes to train employees about how to safeguard borrower information."
