---
title: "16 CFR 314.4 GLBA: Elements"
canonical: "https://dposchool.com/glba/section/314.4"
source: "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/section-314.4"
source_note: "Source: United States Code, title 15, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 12, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR. Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 16, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR."
text_as_of: "2026-10-29"
language: "en"
publisher: "DPO School"
---

16 CFR 314.4 GLBA · Part 314: STANDARDS FOR SAFEGUARDING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

# 16 CFR 314.4 GLBA: Elements

eCFR, up to date as of 29 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

## Official text

In order to develop, implement, and maintain your information security program, you shall:

### 16 CFR 314.4(a)

**(a)** Designate a qualified individual responsible for overseeing and implementing your information security program and enforcing your information security program (for purposes of this part, “Qualified Individual”). The Qualified Individual may be employed by you, an affiliate, or a service provider. To the extent the requirement in this paragraph (a) is met using a service provider or an affiliate, you shall:

#### 16 CFR 314.4(a)(1)

**(1)** Retain responsibility for compliance with this part;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(a)(2)

**(2)** Designate a senior member of your personnel responsible for direction and oversight of the Qualified Individual; and

#### 16 CFR 314.4(a)(3)

**(3)** Require the service provider or affiliate to maintain an information security program that protects you in accordance with the requirements of this part.

### 16 CFR 314.4(b)

**(b)** Base your information security program on a risk assessment that identifies reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks to the security, confidentiality, and integrity of customer information that could result in the unauthorized disclosure, misuse, alteration, destruction, or other compromise of such information, and assesses the sufficiency of any safeguards in place to control these risks.

#### 16 CFR 314.4(b)(1)

**(1)** The risk assessment shall be written and shall include:

##### 16 CFR 314.4(b)(1)(i)

**(i)** Criteria for the evaluation and categorization of identified security risks or threats you face;

##### 16 CFR 314.4(b)(1)(ii)

**(ii)** Criteria for the assessment of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your information systems and customer information, including the adequacy of the existing controls in the context of the identified risks or threats you face; and

##### 16 CFR 314.4(b)(1)(iii)

**(iii)** Requirements describing how identified risks will be mitigated or accepted based on the risk assessment and how the information security program will address the risks.

#### 16 CFR 314.4(b)(2)

**(2)** You shall periodically perform additional risk assessments that reexamine the reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks to the security, confidentiality, and integrity of customer information that could result in the unauthorized disclosure, misuse, alteration, destruction, or other compromise of such information, and reassess the sufficiency of any safeguards in place to control these risks.

### 16 CFR 314.4(c)

**(c)** Design and implement safeguards to control the risks you identify through risk assessment, including by:

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(1)

**(1)** Implementing and periodically reviewing access controls, including technical and, as appropriate, physical controls to:

##### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(1)(i)

**(i)** Authenticate and permit access only to authorized users to protect against the unauthorized acquisition of customer information; and

##### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(1)(ii)

**(ii)** Limit authorized users' access only to customer information that they need to perform their duties and functions, or, in the case of customers, to access their own information;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(2)

**(2)** Identify and manage the data, personnel, devices, systems, and facilities that enable you to achieve business purposes in accordance with their relative importance to business objectives and your risk strategy;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(3)

**(3)** Protect by encryption all customer information held or transmitted by you both in transit over external networks and at rest. To the extent you determine that encryption of customer information, either in transit over external networks or at rest, is infeasible, you may instead secure such customer information using effective alternative compensating controls reviewed and approved by your Qualified Individual;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(4)

**(4)** Adopt secure development practices for in-house developed applications utilized by you for transmitting, accessing, or storing customer information and procedures for evaluating, assessing, or testing the security of externally developed applications you utilize to transmit, access, or store customer information;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(5)

**(5)** Implement multi-factor authentication for any individual accessing any information system, unless your Qualified Individual has approved in writing the use of reasonably equivalent or more secure access controls;

**(6)(i)** Develop, implement, and maintain procedures for the secure disposal of customer information in any format no later than two years after the last date the information is used in connection with the provision of a product or service to the customer to which it relates, unless such information is necessary for business operations or for other legitimate business purposes, is otherwise required to be retained by law or regulation, or where targeted disposal is not reasonably feasible due to the manner in which the information is maintained; and

##### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(5)(ii)

**(ii)** Periodically review your data retention policy to minimize the unnecessary retention of data;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(7)

**(7)** Adopt procedures for change management; and

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(8)

**(8)** Implement policies, procedures, and controls designed to monitor and log the activity of authorized users and detect unauthorized access or use of, or tampering with, customer information by such users.

**(d)(1)** Regularly test or otherwise monitor the effectiveness of the safeguards' key controls, systems, and procedures, including those to detect actual and attempted attacks on, or intrusions into, information systems.

#### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(2)

**(2)** For information systems, the monitoring and testing shall include continuous monitoring or periodic penetration testing and vulnerability assessments. Absent effective continuous monitoring or other systems to detect, on an ongoing basis, changes in information systems that may create vulnerabilities, you shall conduct:

##### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(2)(i)

**(i)** Annual penetration testing of your information systems determined each given year based on relevant identified risks in accordance with the risk assessment; and

##### 16 CFR 314.4(c)(2)(ii)

**(ii)** Vulnerability assessments, including any systemic scans or reviews of information systems reasonably designed to identify publicly known security vulnerabilities in your information systems based on the risk assessment, at least every six months; and whenever there are material changes to your operations or business arrangements; and whenever there are circumstances you know or have reason to know may have a material impact on your information security program.

### 16 CFR 314.4(e)

**(e)** Implement policies and procedures to ensure that personnel are able to enact your information security program by:

#### 16 CFR 314.4(e)(1)

**(1)** Providing your personnel with security awareness training that is updated as necessary to reflect risks identified by the risk assessment;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(e)(2)

**(2)** Utilizing qualified information security personnel employed by you or an affiliate or service provider sufficient to manage your information security risks and to perform or oversee the information security program;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(e)(3)

**(3)** Providing information security personnel with security updates and training sufficient to address relevant security risks; and

#### 16 CFR 314.4(e)(4)

**(4)** Verifying that key information security personnel take steps to maintain current knowledge of changing information security threats and countermeasures.

### 16 CFR 314.4(f)

**(f)** Oversee service providers, by:

#### 16 CFR 314.4(f)(1)

**(1)** Taking reasonable steps to select and retain service providers that are capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards for the customer information at issue;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(f)(2)

**(2)** Requiring your service providers by contract to implement and maintain such safeguards; and

#### 16 CFR 314.4(f)(3)

**(3)** Periodically assessing your service providers based on the risk they present and the continued adequacy of their safeguards.

### 16 CFR 314.4(g)

**(g)** Evaluate and adjust your information security program in light of the results of the testing and monitoring required by paragraph (d) of this section; any material changes to your operations or business arrangements; the results of risk assessments performed under paragraph (b)(2) of this section; or any other circumstances that you know or have reason to know may have a material impact on your information security program.

### 16 CFR 314.4(h)

**(h)** Establish a written incident response plan designed to promptly respond to, and recover from, any security event materially affecting the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of customer information in your control. Such incident response plan shall address the following areas:

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(1)

**(1)** The goals of the incident response plan;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(2)

**(2)** The internal processes for responding to a security event;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(3)

**(3)** The definition of clear roles, responsibilities, and levels of decision-making authority;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(4)

**(4)** External and internal communications and information sharing;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(5)

**(5)** Identification of requirements for the remediation of any identified weaknesses in information systems and associated controls;

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(6)

**(6)** Documentation and reporting regarding security events and related incident response activities; and

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(7)

**(7)** The evaluation and revision as necessary of the incident response plan following a security event.

##### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(7)(i)

**(i)** Require your Qualified Individual to report in writing, regularly and at least annually, to your board of directors or equivalent governing body. If no such board of directors or equivalent governing body exists, such report shall be timely presented to a senior officer responsible for your information security program. The report shall include the following information:

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(1)

**(1)** The overall status of the information security program and your compliance with this part; and

#### 16 CFR 314.4(h)(2)

**(2)** Material matters related to the information security program, addressing issues such as risk assessment, risk management and control decisions, service provider arrangements, results of testing, security events or violations and management's responses thereto, and recommendations for changes in the information security program.

### 16 CFR 314.4(j)

**(j)** Notify the Federal Trade Commission about notification events in accordance with paragraphs (j)(1) and (2) of this section.

#### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)

**(1)** Notification requirement. Upon discovery of a notification event as described in paragraph (j)(2) of this section, if the notification event involves the information of at least 500 consumers, you must notify the Federal Trade Commission as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after discovery of the event. The notice shall be made electronically on a form to be located on the FTC's website, https://www.ftc.gov. The notice shall include the following:

##### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)(i)

**(i)** The name and contact information of the reporting financial institution;

##### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)(ii)

**(ii)** A description of the types of information that were involved in the notification event;

##### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)(iii)

**(iii)** If the information is possible to determine, the date or date range of the notification event;

##### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)(iv)

**(iv)** The number of consumers affected or potentially affected by the notification event;

##### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)(v)

**(v)** A general description of the notification event; and

##### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(1)(vi)

**(vi)** Whether any law enforcement official has provided you with a written determination that notifying the public of the breach would impede a criminal investigation or cause damage to national security, and a means for the Federal Trade Commission to contact the law enforcement official. A law enforcement official may request an initial delay of up to 30 days following the date when notice was provided to the Federal Trade Commission. The delay may be extended for an additional period of up to 60 days if the law enforcement official seeks such an extension in writing. Additional delay may be permitted only if the Commission staff determines that public disclosure of a security event continues to impede a criminal investigation or cause damage to national security.

#### 16 CFR 314.4(j)(2)

**(2)** Notification event treated as discovered. A notification event shall be treated as discovered as of the first day on which such event is known to you. You shall be deemed to have knowledge of a notification event if such event is known to any person, other than the person committing the breach, who is your employee, officer, or other agent.

## Source

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 16, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR.

Source credit: \[86 FR 70307, Dec. 9, 2021, as amended at 88 FR 77508, Nov. 13, 2023\]

[16 CFR 314.4 on eCFR](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/section-314.4)

eCFR, up to date as of 29 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.

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