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| October 15, 2007 - Zoot |
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Zoot ASP Now Offers Total Network Encryption — Advanced technology ensures highest level of consumer data protection — Zoot, a leading provider of advanced instant credit decisioning and loan origination solutions, announced the availability of an increased level of data security — an encrypted network that provides total encryption while maintaining the speed required to process high-volume transactions. The announcement was made at the MBA’s 94th Annual Conference & Expo in Boston. Due to increasing concerns about safety and privacy of personal data by consumers and increasing regulations around compliance, such as the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act and the FACT Act, Zoot has responded with a solution that addresses both business and consumer needs. Zoot’s total encryption process provides the highest level of data protection and regulatory compliance available in the industry. "As data breach incidents continue to dominate the headlines, financial institutions are looking to new ways to protect the vast amount of sensitive customer information within their enterprise. Consumer demand is driving institutions to evaluate current processes and implement more sophisticated systems and solutions,” said George Tubin, research director for TowerGroup. “TowerGroup believes that encryption, when properly implemented, is one of the more highly effective and comprehensive methods of protecting sensitive customer data should it be accidentally lost or stolen. Although currently rare in the industry, total encryption is a critical step towards complete protection of sensitive data." Encryption is in place and being used by every financial institution. However, it is only being used in specific areas of the process and not as a fundamental component of the entire process. To achieve total encryption, an encryption algorithm is applied both when data traverses the network and when at rest. The only time data is not encrypted is while it is being used for decisioning. Data encryption is one component of a multi-layered security strategy at Zoot that includes perimeter protection, firewalls, intrusion detection, filtering, and monitoring tools. “The ability to provide this type of environment for our clients has tremendous benefits. It eases the burden of auditing and compliance requirements for financial institutions and gives their consumers the highest level of protection available,” said Tom Johnson, vice president of product development at Zoot. “For over 16 years, Zoot has assisted clients with balancing their business and security models by maintaining the speed of processing transactions, while mitigating risk.” Although internal compliance is a leading risk factor for the financial services industry, very few vendors encrypt data from within because encryption adds overhead, increases response time for credit decisions, and is difficult to implement. “Zoot has leveraged existing products to reduce the overhead of total encryption, allowing financial institutions to continue processing transactions quickly while providing greater security,” said Tony Rosanova, chief technology officer at Zoot. Total encryption ensures that consumers are protected from identity theft and provides a higher level of trust in their financial institution. It gives executives at financial institutions assurance that legislative requirements are not only met, but also exceeded, and eases personal responsibility for security breaches of confidential information because they have protected their consumers’ data above and beyond what is required. Zoot first made total encryption available to select clients in April 2006. About Zoot Andrew McCaskill/Anna Stanley Eric Lindeen |
| Zoot by Andrew McCaskill, Bozeman-MT |
