DMA News February 2010

Welcome to the DMA news for February 2010. The DMA News is updated regularly to bring you up to speed on the latest developments at the Direct Marketing Association. Please check back often so that you don't miss out! In January, the DMA launched DataSeal, the first data security standard to be produced specifically for the direct marketing industry.

Working in conjunction with BSi, the DMA has produced the private security standard to help boost consumer confidence in sharing their personal details with commercial organisations.

Brands that are clients of direct marketing can now look for DataSeal certification as proof that their customers' data is safe and secure in the hands of their direct marketing services suppliers. DataSeal is exclusively available to DMA members only. Certification in the standard will provide direct marketing services suppliers with an accessible and cost-effective means of meeting their business's data security responsibilities and obligations.

In particular, DataSeal sets out performance requirements for data management issues such as traceability and responsibility of data; system and server security; and data storage and elimination.

DataSeal is applicable to those direct marketing services providers that handle data on behalf of clients, such as agencies; list brokers and managers; and response handlers. Certification in the standard will help these companies to minimise their risk of data loss or misuse.

DMA members will gain certification in the standard once they have implemented a specified range of information security measures and have passed an independent audit undertaken by BSi. Companies that have already hold ISO 27001 are eligible for automatic DataSeal certification.

For companies aiming for ISO 27001 - BSi's standard for information security management systems - DataSeal provides DMA members with a solid entry point for achieving the definitive information security standard.

For more information on DataSeal, and details on how to apply for certification, please visit www.dma.org.uk/dataseal

That's all for now, see you next month.