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STAR Dealer Data Security Guidelines

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's digitally connected world, cyber threats and data breaches are nothing new. We've all seen or heard countless news stories about retail data breaches along with a slew of cyber hacks on other larger companies. As technology evolves, cyber criminals are gaining more sophisticated methods and growing increasingly selective in the victims they target, focusing heavily on small to medium sized businesses (SMBs).

According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, SMBs are the principal target of cybercrime, reporting more than 70% of attacks target small businesses. This is a scary truth for automotive retailers, which embody the ideal target for an attacker. Not only do automotive retailers collect credit card and every other piece of sensitive info needed to hijack a person's life, but dealerships tend to have fewer data security safeguards in place and limited resources allocated to cyber security.

In response to this growing concern, the Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) organization has developed Dealer Data Security Guidelines. The guidelines are a free and educational resource, providing automotive retailers with guidance implementing and maintaining practical and effective data security controls that support industry best practices.  The guidebook touches on a variety of data security measures, ranging from IT security policies to cyber security technologies to security awareness training. The Dealer Data Security Guidelines were developed as a collaborative effort of STAR members, which consists of numerous automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), data management system (DMS) providers and IT security vendors. The workgroup was headed by Nuspire Networks, a managed security service provider specializing in multi-location security challenges for enterprise organizations. STAR will debut its Dealer Data Security Guidelines at the 2017 STAR General Session Meeting in New Orleans, taking place on January 25, 2017 in conjunction with the NADA Convention.

For more information on STAR, or the Dealer Data Security Guidelines, please visit http://www.starstandard.org/, or contact:

Nuspire Networks Public Relations
(877) 435-1640
info@nuspire.com 
www.nuspire.com

Media Contact:
Paco Escobar
142143@email4pr.com 
518-727-4978

SOURCE Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail