Many industries have compliance and regulatory requirements to ensure their data is stored in multiple locations or backed up to ensure data availability, integrity, and security. Here are some key industries and the relevant regulations:
HIPAA – Requires safeguards (Security Rule) and backup plans for ePHI; certain records retained ≥6 years
HIPAA civil fines up to $50k per violation (capped at $1.5M per year)
HIPAA civil fines up to $50k per violation (capped at $1.5M per year)
State AG fines up to $25k per violation. Possible criminal charges for willful neglect.
Compromised patient care and safety; loss of patient trust; malpractice lawsuits; HHS/OCR audits and corrective action mandates.
PCI DSS - Must securely store and back up cardholder data only as necessary; maintain 1+ year of audit logs. State Data Privacy (CCPA/CPRA) - Limit retention to what's needed. FTC Act - Requires reasonable data security.
Card brands can levy fines of $5,000-$100,000 per month of PCI non-compliance, or up to $500k per breach incident. FTC and state AGs also impose penalties (e.g. multi-million dollar settlements) for data loss.
Loss of ability to process credit cards (acquirers can terminate service); costly breach notifications and credit monitoring for customers; class-action lawsuits from consumers; erosion of customer loyalty and sales after a data loss incident.
Federal Records Act - Must preserve official records per NARA schedules; no unauthorized destruction. State Sunshine/FOIA laws - Require retention of public records for transparency.
Federal law penalties up to $2,000 fine and 3 years imprisonment for willfully destroying records.
State open-records violations can bring fines or court sanctions.
Legal sanctions (courts can hold agencies in contempt for missing records); loss of public trust; oversight investigations; officials risk job loss for non-compliance.
FERPA - Protects student records privacy; mandates controlled access. (No fixed retention period, but schools typically keep transcripts for decades.
No direct FERPA fines, but Department of Education can cut federal funding for non-compliance. Some states impose fines for data breaches.
Accreditation and legal risks if student records are lost; lawsuits from students/parents; damage to reputation and student trust; loss of enrollment if seen as negligent.
NERC CIP - Power utilities must maintain cyber and backup plans (e.g. CIP-009 recovery plans). FERC - Requires reliable operation data retention.
Strict: Up to $1 million per day per violation of reliability standards. Recent CIP violations have brought multi-million dollar penalties.
Blackouts or safety incidents if critical data is lost; regulators could mandate shutdowns until compliance is restored; revenue losses from downtime; public safety and environmental liabilities.
Data Privacy Laws – e.g. GDPR (EU) and CCPA/CPRA (CA) mandate data retention limits and secure storage. Telecom – FCC requires safeguarding customer network data (CPNI); continuity plans for 911 systems.
GDPR fines up to 4% of global revenue (multi-billion dollar fines have been issued). FTC can fine or order remedies for data breaches. FCC has penalized carriers for failing to protect customer data.
Service outages or data loss can trigger mass customer departures; regulatory scrutiny and audits; tech firms face consent decrees (years of monitoring) after major failures; emerging AI regulations may soon require logging and retaining algorithmic decision data for accountability.
OSHA – Safety records (injury logs 5 years, exposure records 30 years); must back up required records. EPA – Environmental records retention for compliance. Industry Standards – Quality system records (e.g. ISO) often require archival.
OSHA can fine up to $70,000 per willful recordkeeping violation (adjusted to ~$145k under current law). Environmental violations can incur fines per day.
Production halts if critical process data is lost; inability to defend product liability or environmental claims without records; potential plant closures by regulators; loss of business contracts due to compliance failures.
Legal - ABA Model Rules and state bar rules mandate safeguarding client files (often kept ≥5 years post-case).
Accounting - SOX and PCAOB rules require audit workpapers for 7 years; IRS requires years of tax record retention.
Law firms: court sanctions or malpractice claims for spoliation (courts can impose fines or even case-ending sanctions if data is destroyed). e.g. NY AG fined a firm $200k for poor data security after a breach. Accounting firms: SEC/PCAOB penalties or license loss for improper record destruction (as in the Enron/Arthur Andersen case).
Loss of professional license (disbarment or CPA revocation) for ethical breaches; malpractice liability insurance claims; client loss if sensitive case files or financial data are lost; reputational damage affecting firm's viability.
GLBA – Safeguards for customer financial data (keep records ~6 years). SOX – Public companies must retain audit and financial records 5-7 years. FFIEC/NY-DFS - Require backup and disaster recovery plans.
Multi-million dollar regulatory fines (e.g. $1.5B+ in SEC/FINRA recordkeeping penalties since 2022); potential criminal liability (e.g. SOX prohibits early destruction of audits).
Bank charter or license at risk; heightened oversight or cease-and-desist orders; client lawsuits if data loss affects accounts; reputational damage affecting stock value.
FDA GxP - Good Practices rules (21 CFR) require retaining research data, clinical trial records ≥2 years post-study; electronic records must be secure (Part 11). ICH GCP - Clinical data integrity standards.
FDA warnings, product approval delays, or consent decrees. Data integrity lapses can trigger import bans and remediation costing tens of millions. Fines can reach ~$1 million per incident for data integrity failures.
Suspension of drug trials or rejection of drug applications; forced product recalls if manufacturing records are missing; lawsuits (e.g. over unverified trial data); severe reputational damage in a regulated market.