Financial Institutions Face Tight Compliance Requirements in 2007

Financial institutions can expect increased scrutiny on information security policies in 2007 as regulators devise new oversight standards.

In December, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which establishes rules for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, proposed a new standard for Sarbox section 404, which governs internal controls over financial reporting, including IT controls. Separately, the Payment Card Industry data security standard will require merchants and payment processors to implement stringent IT security procedures, such as additional firewalls and access controls.