Kelcey T. Brown is chief strategy officer and executive vice
president of WebMax LLC. Brown is responsible for developing, communicating, executing and sustaining strategic
initiatives. He acts as a key adviser to the company’s
president on critical changes in the competitive landscape,
internal employee development and the external business
environment. Brown has worked for nine years in the real
estate and mortgage technology industry. Reach him at
kelcey.brown@webmaxco.com or (856) 702-6400.
Safeguarding Borrower Data
Information security is critical in the digital mortgage industry
By Kelcey T. Brown
Over the past few years, the mortgage industryhashadtoadjusttonewcompli- ance regulations and transition accord- ingly. With the growing emergence of
technology and big data in the mortgage application
process, data security stands as a major facet of compliance for mortgage lenders, mortgage technology
providers and others in the industry.
In addition, stricter enforcement has increased the
cost of originating mortgage loans, which impacts
profitability margins. Industry players need to implement more structural changes to their processes to
reduce their risk and make internal controls more
effective and maintainable over time. Recent data-security concerns demonstrate that although complying with data-security regulations may cost time and
money, it pays dividends in the long run.
This past summer, Equifax suffered a massive hacking attack in which sensitive information of more than
143 million Americans was breached. That equates to
half of the adult American population. Equifax waited
more than a month to announce the massive data
breach.
As a credit reporting and monitoring company, Equifax inventories peoples’ most sensitive information:
Social Security, credit card and driver’s license numbers;
Certifying financial controls
