CyberGlossary

Compliance & Frameworks

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

Also known as: GLB Act, Financial Services Modernization Act

Definition

A U.S. federal law requiring financial institutions to protect the security and confidentiality of customer non-public personal information.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), enacted in 1999 and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and federal banking regulators, governs how U.S. financial institutions handle consumers' non-public personal information (NPI). Its three pillars are the Financial Privacy Rule (disclosing information-sharing practices), the Safeguards Rule (implementing a written information security program), and the Pretexting Provisions (prohibiting social-engineering acquisition of customer data). The 2023 Safeguards Rule update added explicit requirements such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, designated qualified individual, penetration testing, and incident notification within 30 days for breaches affecting 500 or more customers.

Examples

  • A regional bank publishing an annual privacy notice describing how it shares customer data with affiliates.
  • A mortgage broker implementing MFA and encryption to satisfy the FTC Safeguards Rule.

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