The threat of a catastrophic event on U.S. financial systems is real. As a participating institution of the Sheltered Harbor community, you acknowledge this and have made a commitment to implement the sector’s resiliency standard and promote the Sheltered Harbor initiative. The standard gives your organization the ability to proactively and rapidly restore customer account data, providing customers timely access to their account balances and funds in the event of a catastrophe or an extended operational outage.
Certification is a Sheltered Harbor element. Participants must implement a robust set of specific safeguards and controls that are independently audited for compliance with the Sheltered Harbor Adherence framework. After you complete the vaulted phase of the standard, you can obtain your Data Protected certification. Sheltered Harbor highly recommends participating institutions achieve Data Protected certification within 12 months of joining the community.
The Data Protected certification is awarded by Sheltered Harbor upon successful completion of several key steps. The steps include implementing a data vault and specific controls, testing data recovery, completing an independent audit and submitting a certification agreement and management assertion. Prior to receiving the certification seal, you will need to demonstrate that you have relevant controls in place and that vaulting is operational by engaging a Qualified Assessor to conduct an independent audit.
Download our article to learn more about successfully obtaining Sheltered Harbor Data Protected Certification, including:
- When you should start
- Planning ahead
- Maintaining Data Protected certification
