[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 51 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13898-13900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5090]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 072 3013]


Goal Financial, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid 
Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to 
Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft 
complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent 
agreement--that would settle these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 3, 2008

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``Goal Financial, File No. 072 3013,'' to 
facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form 
should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope, and 
should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room 135-H, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Comments containing confidential 
material must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with Commission Rule 4.9(c). 16 CFR 
4.9(c) (2005).\1\ The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper 
form be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. 
postal mail in the Washington area

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and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security 
precautions. Comments that do not contain any nonpublic information may 
instead be filed in electronic form by following the instructions on 
the web-based form at http://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-GoalFinancial. 
To ensure that the Commission considers an electronic comment, you must 
file it on that web-based form.
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    \1\ The comment must be accompanied by an explicit request for 
confidential treatment, including the factual and legal basis for 
the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment 
to be withheld from the public record. The request will be granted 
or denied by the Commission's General Counsel, consistent with 
applicable law and the public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 
16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC website, to the extent 
practicable, at www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC makes 
every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from 
the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the 
FTC website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the 
Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Rich, FTC Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580, (202) 
326-2148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Sec.  2.34 of 
the Commission Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given 
that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order 
to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to 
final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record 
for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public 
Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the 
allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of 
the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page 
(for March 4, 2008), on the World Wide Web, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/03/index.htm. A paper copy can be obtained from the FTC Public 
Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, 
D.C. 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-2222.
    Public comments are invited, and may be filed with the Commission 
in either paper or electronic form. All comments should be filed as 
prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or 
before the date specified in the DATES section.

Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order to Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission has accepted, subject to final 
approval, a consent agreement from Goal Financial, LLC (``Goal 
Financial'').
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. 
Comments received during this period will become part of the public 
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the 
agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should 
withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final 
the agreement's proposed order.
    Goal Financial markets and originates a variety of student loans 
and provides loan-related services. In conducting its business, Goal 
Financial routinely obtains personal information from loan applications 
and other sources, including name, address, telephone number, driver's 
license number, Social Security number, date of birth, and income, 
debt, and employment information. Goal Financial, therefore, is a 
``financial institution'' subject to the requirements of the Gramm-
Leach-Bliley (``GLB'') Safeguards Rule and Privacy Rule. This matter 
concerns Goal Financial's alleged violations of the GLB Safeguards 
Rule, the GLB Privacy Rule, and Section 5 of the Federal Trade 
Commission (``FTC'') Act.
    The Commission's proposed complaint alleges that Goal Financial 
engaged in a number of practices that, taken together, failed to employ 
reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect personal 
information. In particular, Goal Financial failed: (1) to assess 
adequately risks to the information it collected and stored in its 
paper files and on its computer network; (2) to restrict adequately 
access to personal information stored in its paper files and on its 
computer network to authorized employees; (3) to implement a 
comprehensive information security program, including reasonable 
policies and procedures in key areas such as the collection, handling, 
and disposal of personal information; (4) to provide adequate training 
to employees about handling and protecting personal information and 
responding to security incidents; and (5) in a number of instances to 
require third-party service providers by contract to protect the 
security and confidentiality of personal information. As a result of 
these alleged failures, Goal Financial put at risk the sensitive 
information of more than 41,000 consumers.
    The complaint alleges that these security failures violated the GLB 
Safeguards Rule. In addition, the complaint alleges that Goal Financial 
misrepresented that it implemented reasonable and appropriate security 
measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, in 
violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Further, the proposed complaint 
alleges that Goal Financial disseminated a privacy policy that does not 
accurately reflect its privacy practices, including its security 
policies and practices, in violation of the GLB Privacy Rule.
    The proposed order applies to personal information Goal Financial 
collects from or about consumers in connection with its student loan 
and related services and contains provisions designed to prevent Goal 
Financial from engaging in the future in practices similar to those 
alleged in the complaint.
    Part I of the proposed order requires that Goal Financial not 
misrepresent the extent to which it maintains and protects the privacy, 
confidentiality, or integrity of any personal information collected 
from or about consumers.
    Part II of the proposed order requires Goal Financial to establish 
and maintain a comprehensive information security program in writing 
that is reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality, 
and integrity of personal information it collects from or about 
consumers. The security program must contain administrative, technical, 
and physical safeguards appropriate to its size and complexity, the 
nature and scope of its activities, and the sensitivity of the personal 
information collected. Specifically, the order requires Goal Financial 
to:
    1. Designate an employee or employees to coordinate and be 
accountable for the information security program.
    2. Identify material internal and external risks to the security, 
confidentiality, and integrity of consumer information that could 
result in unauthorized disclosure, misuse, loss, alteration, 
destruction, or other compromise of such information, and assess the 
sufficiency of any safeguards in place to control these risks.
    3. Design and implement reasonable safeguards to control the risks 
identified through risk assessment, and regularly test or monitor the 
effectiveness of the safeguards' key controls, systems, and procedures.
    4. Develop and use reasonable steps to retain service providers 
capable of appropriately safeguarding personal

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information they receive from Goal Financial, require service providers 
by contract to implement and maintain appropriate safeguards, and 
monitor their safeguarding of personal information.
    5. Evaluate and adjust its information security program in light of 
the results of testing and monitoring, any material changes to its 
operations or business arrangements, or any other circumstances that it 
knows or has reason to know may have a material impact on the 
effectiveness of its information security program.
    Part III of the proposed order requires that Goal Financial not 
violate any provision of the GLB Safeguards Rule and Privacy Rule.
    Part IV of the proposed order requires that Goal Financial obtain, 
within 180 days after being served with the final order approved by the 
Commission, and on a biennial basis thereafter for ten (10) years, an 
assessment and report from a qualified, objective, independent third-
party professional, certifying that: (1) Goal Financial has in place a 
security program that provides protections that meet or exceed the 
protections required by Parts II and IIIA of the proposed order, and 
(2) its security program is operating with sufficient effectiveness to 
provide reasonable assurance that the security, confidentiality, and 
integrity of nonpublic personal information has been protected. This 
provision is substantially similar to comparable provisions obtained in 
prior Commission orders under the Safeguards Rule and Section 5 of the 
FTC Act.
    Parts V through IX of the proposed order are reporting and 
compliance provisions. Part V requires Goal Financial to retain 
documents relating to its compliance with the order. For most records, 
the order requires that the documents be retained for a five-year 
period. For the third-party assessments and supporting documents, Goal 
Financial must retain the documents for a period of three years after 
the date that each assessment is prepared. Part VI requires 
dissemination of the order now and in the future to persons with 
responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. Part VII 
ensures notification to the FTC of changes in company status. Part VIII 
mandates that Goal Financial submit an initial compliance report to the 
FTC, and make available to the FTC subsequent reports. Part IX is a 
provision ``sunsetting'' the order after twenty (20) years, with 
certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the proposed order or to modify its terms in any way.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-5090 Filed 3-13-08: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S