Simplifying SEC 17a 4 compliance for email
As your financial firm works to meet requirements for Rule 17a 4 of the Securities Exchange Act (SEA), the right technology can help to significantly simplify SEC 17a 4 compliance.
To achieve 17a 4 compliance, brokers, dealers and other agencies regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission must keep originals and copies of all business communications for a period of up to six years. This includes documents, email, fax messages, instant messages and other types of written and digital communications. SEC 17a 4 compliance requires that data be stored in formats that can't be rewritten or erased, and duplicate copies of messages must be stored in separate locations. Additionally, all data must be indexed and auditable at any time by the SEC, with audit logs that document access to messages. Failure to achieve SEC 17a 4 compliance can result in very stiff penalties and fines.
Like most businesses, email has become the dominant mode of communication in the financial industry, meaning your firm must have a way to retain, protect and control access to large stores of email data in order to achieve SEC 17a 4 compliance. That's where Mimecast can help.
Managing SEC 17a 4 compliance with Mimecast
Mimecast offers a SaaS-based solution for email security, archiving and continuity that can help financial firms achieve SEC 17a 4 compliance. As a cloud-based subscription service, Mimecast is easy to implement and to use – there is no hardware or software to purchase or install and Mimecast requires no upfront capital costs. Mimecast services can be configured and managed from a single web-based console, helping to dramatically simplify email management tasks for IT administrators.
To enable your firm to manage SEC 17a 4 compliance, Mimecast provides a centralized cloud repository for email data as well as files, documents and IM conversations. The Mimecast Cloud Archive simplifies email retention by enabling administrators to easily configure and enforce retention policies throughout the organization. Powerful tools for search, legal hold and e-discovery help to take the burden out of responding to compliance and legal requests. And Mimecast satisfies SEC 17a 4 compliance requirements by retaining three tamper-proof, encrypted copies of each email, storing them in geographically diverse data centers. Mimecast enables auditors to view both the original email as well as copies of any policy-modified emails.
In addition to SEC 17a 4 compliance, the Mimecast Cloud Archive provides government, legal and healthcare compliance solutions that help to streamline email management while meeting industry requirements.
Benefits of Mimecast solutions for SEC 17a 4 compliance
When you choose Mimecast to help with SEC 17a 4 compliance, you can:
- Implement and scale a compliance solution quickly, easily and cost efficiently.
- Significantly reduce the time required to manage litigation hold in Office 365, for example, and to respond to compliance requests, audits and other inquiries.
- Improve your security posture with solutions that prevent routine and advanced threats to email.
- Maintain email continuity with a Mimecast service that provides access to live and historic email during outages and attacks.
Learn more about SEC 17a 4 compliance and Mimecast, and about Mimecast Office 365 e-discovery and Office 365 legal hold solutions.