Regulations Upping the Ante on Electronic Data Management

Rules and regulations regarding what records companies must keep and be able to produce as evidence in the case of a court hearing have been around for decades, with one of the first such laws being the Securities and Exchange Act of the US that was passed in 1934. Initially governing only written documents and guarantees, the rule has been expanded to cover new communication technologies such as email and instant messaging. In recent years, a wide range of governmental and industry-specific regulations have been passed-some international in nature, some limited to a local scope. One particular law that is currently causing headaches for many companies is the PCI standard from the Payment Cards Industry.