FIPA Compliance: A Practical Guide for Florida Small Business Owners

As a Florida small business owner, protecting your customers' and employees' personal information is a requirement under Florida law. The Florida Information Protection Act (FIPA), codified in Section 501.171 of the Florida Statutes, sets out specific requirements for businesses of all sizes to safeguard personal information they collect and hold.

This post outlines your data privacy obligations and provides some practical security measures to consider implementing as part of your FIPA compliance efforts.

What Information Needs Protection

FIPA focuses on protecting specific combinations of personal information that could be used for identity theft or fraud. It requires you to protect any combination of a person's name (or first initial and last name) when it is stored alongside sensitive data such as social security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account information, or health information. This requirement applies to both paper and electronic records.

For electronic records, if you encrypt, secure, or use a method or technology that removes all elements that personally identify an individual or otherwise makes the information unusable, the information is not considered "personal information" under FIPA. Implementing such practices provides you with a cost-effective and practical way to meet your data privacy obligations while still maintaining necessary business records.

Implement Reasonable Security Measures

FIPA requires your business to use "reasonable" security measures to protect and secure electronic data containing personal information. As a small business owner, this doesn’t mean implementing an enterprise-level security system but using reasonable security practices. Some practical security measures include:

Using unique and strong passwords
Enabling multi-factor authentication
Using antivirus software
Using a firewall
Keeping all software updated
Using encrypted storage
Assigning account privileges based on company roles
Providing data privacy training to your workforce
Having a written an incident response plan in place
Performing regular data backups

Your security measures need not be complex or expensive, but they should be reasonable, adequate, consistent and documented.

Train Your Team

If you have employees or 1099 staff members, it’s important you provide effective training on protecting personal information along with having clear, written procedures for how personal information should be securely handled. By providing appropriate data privacy training to your team, you establish a critical defense against data breaches that could potentially expose your business to significant legal liability. In practical terms, a well-trained team that understands privacy protocols and can identify potential security threats serves as your first line of defense against costly data breaches.

Some practical training topics that should be covered include:

Password security and management
Recognizing phishing attempts
Avoiding suspicious downloads
Securing filing sharing
Securing physical devices (e.g., laptops and mobile devices)
Properly handling customer information
Proper disposal of paper and electronic data

Your training practices should be documented including keeping records of who attended each session. This documentation helps demonstrate your commitment to compliance and can be valuable if questions arise about your security practices.

Manage Your Vendor Relationships

Your business likely relies on various service providers who handle personal information—payment processors, cloud storage providers, or customer relationship management systems. FIPA requires you to ensure these vendors protect your customers' and employees' data appropriately.

Start by creating a simple vendor management system using tools you likely already have, like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Create a master spreadsheet with the following essential columns:

Vendor Name and Primary Service
Key Contact Person (including phone and email)
Emergency/Security Contact (if different)
Contract Renewal Date
Types of Personal Data Accessed (checklist: names, addresses, SSN, payment info, etc.)
Security Certifications (if any)
Last Security Review Date
Notes/Comments

For example, your spreadsheet might show that your payment processor has access to customer names, email addresses, and credit card information, while your email marketing service only sees names and email addresses. Add notes about their security certifications or specific handling requirements.

You should keep this document updated and store it securely, such as password-protecting the file and maintaining a backup copy. Also, you should periodically review and update it, perhaps when you do your regular business planning or financial review.

When selecting new vendors, evaluate their security practices and how they handle personal information before engaging them. Vendor contracts and their privacy/security policies should address data protection clearly, including how they will handle personal information, when they must notify you of potential breaches (within 10 days under FIPA), and what happens to the data when your business relationship ends.

Manage Your Data Throughout Its Entire Lifecycle

Good information management includes knowing when to dispose of data your business no longer needs. FIPA requires secure disposal of customer personal information when it's no longer necessary for business purposes or required by law. This means shredding paper documents and securely deleting electronic files.

To help manage your record retention obligations, develop a record retention schedule that specifies how long the different types of records should be kept. A record retention schedule helps to ensure that you're not keeping personal information longer than is reasonably necessary while maintaining records that you require for business or legal purposes.

Prepare for Potential Data Breaches

Despite best efforts, data breaches can occur. FIPA requires specific actions if your business experiences a data breach that compromises personal information that may result in harm to your customers or employees. This includes notifying affected individuals within 30 days, explaining when the data breach occurred, the types of personal information that were compromised, and what steps they can take to protect themselves. If the breach affects more than 500 people, you must also notify the Florida Attorney General's office.

To prepare, it is prudent practice to have an incident response plan that outlines who will do what in case of a data breach. The plan should include steps for assessing a suspected or actual breach, key contacts and resources, data recovery procedures, documentation requirements, and notification procedures. By having an incident response plan in place, you are in a far better position to respond effectively and quickly should an incident occur.

Closing Remarks

Protecting personal information under FIPA doesn't necessarily require complex systems or costly resources for Florida small business owners, but, rather, applying meaningful efforts to protect personal information collected and processed. Your security measures should align with your business's size, data type and volume, and risk profile.

It's also important to highlight that data protection is an ongoing process and not a one-time project. Regularly pay attention to your security practices and conduct periodic reviews of your data protection protocols to ensure they're effective and to demonstrate your ongoing compliance commitment.

The information provided is for general informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice or opinion for any individual matter. You should consult your own attorney for any legal advice you may require.

If you would like to explore how Venus Caruso can assist you, contact Venus today using the website’s contact form or by email to venus@carusolawoffice.com.