Email Regulations covering FRCP, SOX, FINRA, SEC, NYSE, HIPAA and GLBA regulations

Email Regulations From The SEC (17a-3 & 17a-4)

Although some may view email archiving as a simple and easy way to govern company emails, it is so much more.  Email archive solutions for email regulations enable users to comply with federal regulations and maintain the corporate knowledge stored within their email systems in good working.  There are certain regulatory bodies which concern themselves with monitoring the email archiving habits of companies and corporations. For the SEC, two essential rules to know and understand for its email regulations are SEC 17a-3 and SEC 17a-4.

SEC 17a-3 & SEC 17a-4

The main SEC rules which govern the topic of email archiving are SEC 17a-3 and SEC 17a-4.  These rules cover various aspects of email archiving but some of the main points are as follows:

• Electronic business records must be archived for 3-6 years, depending on business;
• Email messages have to be stored in a safe, tamperproof way;
• Email must be indexed properly;
• Third-party downloader must be appointed by the company so access to the archived emails is possible;
• Email must be archived in duplicate and stored in different locations.

All of these previously listed rules are created to ensure proper retention and maintenance of email which may have been sent to those outside the company, received from outside parties and interoffice email.