Brokerdealer.com blog profiles Finra CEO’s, Rich Ketchum, decision to stop working on the proposal for a massive data-collection system with concerns over secruity issues. Ketchum is expected to report to Congress tomorrow, Friday, May 1, 2015, to explain why. Since the proposal’s start it has received much resistance by others in the industry due to fear of putting the clients and risk and seems Finra is now starting to agree. This brokerdealer.com blog update is courtesy of InvestmentNews’ Mark Schoeff Jr.  and his article, “Finra CEO Rick Ketchum backs off data collection plan“, with an excerpt below.

Finra is putting the brakes on its proposal for a massive data-collection system over concerns about the security of customer information, the organization’s chief executive is expected to tell Congress on Friday.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has received strong industry resistance to its so-called Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System over its potential costs and the possibility that it will expose customer data to hackers. The comment period for the proposal ended on Dec. 1 last year.

In prepared testimony, Finra chief executive Rick Ketchum said that although CARDS will not collect client names, addresses and Social Security numbers, Finra shares concerns about “bad actors” being able to obtain information that “could possibly be reengineered to identify individuals.”

The regulator is studying the potential data-security threats, Mr. Ketchum will tell the House Financial Services Committee, and is evaluating whether CARDS data can be collected through “existing data sources.”

To continue reading about what Ketchum is expected to tell Congress tomorrow, click here.