Confusion reigns over data archiving

摘要

New york―Users, vendors and securities industry officials wrangled last week at the Securities Industry Association Technology Management Conference in New York about ambiguous Securities and Exchange Commission requirements on e-mail archiving and retention. Storage vendors EMC and Iron Mountain reacted to the recently released SEC 17a-4 Interpretive Ruling by showing off hardware and software that they say complies with the ruling. The original SEC Rule 17a-4 and the new Interpretive Release define how broker-dealers should archive and retain electronic communications, including e-mails and instant messages relating to trades. "There is a lot of confusion in the securities industry about what has to be retained and for how long," said Mark Lackritz, president of the SIA, in a speech at the show.