The Direct Marketing Association last week released mandatory data-protection guidelines and a separate security checklist, the latter created with the Federal Trade Commission. Both measures are meant to protect personally identifiable information
“Security is an ethical responsibility for marketers,” says DMA VP-Ethics and Consumer Affairs Patricia Faley. “Marketers and privacy officers can use [the checklist] to make sure they’ve covered all the bases in their security programs.” The “Information Security: Safeguarding Personal Data in Your Care” checklist is posted at www.the-dma.org (http://www.the-dma.org ).
DMA’s own guidelines-mandatory for consumer marketer members-are as follows:
* Marketers should establish information security policies and practices that assure the uninterrupted security of information systems.
* Marketers should create and implement staff policies, procedures, training and responsiveness measures to protect personally identifiable information handled in the everyday performance of duties.
* Marketers should employ and routinely reassess protective physical safeguards and technological measures in support of information security policies.
* Marketers should inform all business partners and service providers that handle personally identifiable information of their responsibility to ensure that their policies, procedures and practices maintain