In 1999 , US President Bill Clinton signed the GLBA into the American law with some reluctance.

The impetus for the passage of the GLBA was the merger between Citicorp and the Travellers Group.

The GLBA mandates that all financial institutions establish appropriate security standards to protect customer data from internal and external threats and unauthorized access occurring through online systems and networks.

This level of security is mandatory to ensure that companies maintain data integrity and privacy standards for employees and customers that have provided PI.

The point to note is that safeguarding the confidentiality.and integrity of customer information is no longer just a best practice for financial institutions; it is now a legal requirement. Title V of the GLBA is about privacy'

GLBA breaks down the legal barriers between the insurance, banking and brokerage businesses, allowing them to merge and share information.

However, it is said that despite 'privacy protection' in GLBA, individuals will not have control over much of that sharing on their detailed, PI, sometimes including health information.