The Evolution of Communications Surveillance

When email was introduced, the industry quickly learned they could not apply analog pre-clearance rules to these newer, digital types of communication. Better archiving, along with new forms of surveillance, needed to be developed as the kinds of communication expanded and grew.

Increasingly, we rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help us determine which messages and conversations need to be reviewed across an ever-expanding list of communication platforms. It is helping us take unstructured communications data and visualize it in the context of other surveillance modules and so better understand them through a consolidated and unified format.

Communications surveillance remains at the forefront of regulatory agendas, and notably, U.S. regulators often place a greater emphasis on communications surveillance over other types of surveillance. Firms need to illustrate to the regulator that they have a reasonably-designed, proactive program that establishes a communications policy, that they effectively archive all business communications, that they have educated their staff about the policy and acceptable communication channels, and tools are in place and used to review communications, detect items of interest, and then escalate issues through to their resolution.

Over the past four years, U.S. regulators have been pursuing a significant number of recordkeeping cases through the lens of off-channel communications. This ongoing Books & Records enforcement campaign underscores the need for firms to have a robust archiving and surveillance solution in place. In sum, the two main takeaways from these cases highlight the need for:

1. Tools that help you to capture, archive, and surveil all pertinent electronic communications.
2. Explainability, or the ability to demonstrate to interested third parties, like a regulator or an auditor, what you did with the information gathered – i.e., to show how your surveillance surfaced a particular risk, and through your compliance program, what you did with the information garnered to ensure that misconduct has been addressed appropriately.

How we help

Global regulators are turning up the scrutiny around books and records. Firms need to ensure their eComms surveillance program meets these regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

ACA's eComms offering, integrated within our ComplianceAlpha^® RegTech solutions platform, provides a comprehensive, end-to-end program for capturing, archiving, and monitoring employee communications across a wide array of channels. Not only does it capture data, but it also enhances the efficiency and clarity of monitoring electronic communications. This empowers users to identify risks, detect misconduct, and ensure policy compliance, protecting firms from regulatory fines and reputational damage.

For questions or to discuss how ACA can help you strengthen your firm’s eComms surveillance program, increase efficiencies through technology, and ensure your regulatory obligations are met, reach out to your ACA consultant or contact us here.