NACUBO: The FTC's Red Flag Rule Identity Theft Prevention Rule May Affect Colleges

The National Association of College and University Business Officers notes that the FTC's Red Flag rule likely applies to colleges. For security analysts, this means that your identity theft prevention procedures and policies may get a federally mandated update.

Two parts of the rule may apply to colleges - first, that users of consumer reports must develop reasonable policies and procedures when they receive notification from a credit agency that there is an address discrepancy. Second, that financial institutions and creditors holding covered accounts must develop a written identity theft prevention program for their accounts.

NACUBO points out that many of the activities and accounts offered by higher education might cause such organizations to fit the rule. These include Perkins loans, institutional loans, and other similar activities.

NACBU also provides a nice breakdown of the FTC rules. This is a good one to point out to your university administration if they're not aware of it yet.