As our world is consumed by technology, our businesses rely more and more on digital data. But how secure is your confidential appraisal data? Are you doing all you can to protect your customers and clients? Valuation Review took an extensive look at appraisal data security. This is a round-up of our exclusive content that you can only read here at Valuation Review.

Securing the valuation future
Everyone in the industry is now familiar with three little letters — XML — thanks in part to the implementation of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, the use of XML as a vehicle for transporting appraisal data is not new or unique to this circumstance. What is missing from this widespread adoption of XML for appraisal data under this initiative is industry-wide cooperation on the methods for securing the XML as it moves from the appraiser’s desktop through AMCs ...

Safeguarding appraisal privacy, protecting data integrity
Of course, appraisers are aware of their obligations as it relates to confidentiality and USPAP requirements. Most appraisers are also aware that they are considered a financial institution under the definitions provided by the Gramm-Leach- Bliley Act (GLB). Compliance is mandatory and a policy must be in place to protect the information security and data integrity. Another important aspect of data governance is data verifiability. The ability to confirm that data provided in an appraisal report is legit...

The procedural challenges of data security
It is possible that a copy of an appraisal report PDF is placed in the loan file and then a change is made subsequently and the new XML is forwarded on, but the file copy of the PDF is not replaced. These concerns are hopefully caught in a post-closing audit.   Again, a manual process is involved to provide a verification of the match between the enclosed PDF and the XML data. Care should be taken to ensure that proper controls are in place to track the version of the appraisal report and ensure it...

The future of appraisal data security
Data is the life-blood of the appraisal process. The importance of clean, accurate and verifiable data cannot be emphasized enough. It is not only vital to the credibility of the appraisal report, it is the key to improved lending decisions and ensuring compliance to the increasing level of regulatory oversight for both lenders and secondary market investors. Appraisers are taking advantage of the power of data with the use of statistically-based tools and improved scopes of work…

Shore up your company’s valuation data vulnerabilities
Take a moment to think about all of your personal information that has gone digital. Your address, phone numbers, bank account statements, credit card numbers, social security number and tax information are just a few examples of the sensitive data that is likely accessed digitally by a number of different platforms. As the appraisal and lending industries continue to transition to more technology-driven loan origination software (LOS) and data submission portals, the need for data security has never be...

Appraisal data security starts at home
There are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your in-house employees are correctly using and securing your company’s NPI data. Passwords might seem like a simple piece of the security puzzle, but they are often overlooked. You need to instill a regular schedule of changing passwords and access codes. An unchanged password could be the difference in a former employee gaining access to your company’s information.   You also have to be careful how the access codes and passwords are used out...

Compatible appraisal data security system partners
There are many different types of loan origination software (LOS) platforms and data submission portals. It can be overwhelming at times when each company seems to have its own technology solutions. As the lending community seeks to standardize data through the XML MISMO standards, lenders, appraisal management companies (AMCs) and appraisers alike will need to ensure that their chosen platform securely connects to their clients’ platforms.

What data security means to appraisers
So what does all this data security info mean for appraisers? Surely the appraisal is an important part of the loan process and includes NPI, which needs to be handled with discretion and security. The appraisal report itself contains photos and information that is confidential and which must be protected to ensure consumer safety and privacy.

What do you do if you suspect a data security breach?
Identify the signs of a possible breach: This could be unscheduled data feeds, external code (such as virus, Trojans, worms), code injection (SQL injection), unusually frequent activity indicating penetration attempts (distributed denial of service), access log-on failures (indicating potential attack attempts), unauthorized log-on, large file downloads outside of normal procedures, record inaccuracies indicating data corruption or missing information from a work file.