IM Auditing Software Helps Securities Firm Comply With SEC RulesIM Auditing Software Helps Securities Firm Comply With SEC Rules

Securities firm Thomas Weisel Partners LLC began using instant messaging to transmit time-sensitive information three years ago. But since Securities and Exchange Commission rules require securities firms to record and archive all electronic communication, the firm has had to suspend all IM communication until Dec. 1, when it will deploy instant-message recording and archiving software from FaceTime Communications.

Thomas Weisel CIO Robert Hahn says the firm began blocking IM communications about four months ago because it did not have the ability to audit or monitor it. Thomas Weisel is testing and customizing IM Auditor, a software server from FaceTime. IM Auditor is installed behind Thomas Weisel's Internet firewall and records instant messages that are coming from or going to public IM servers such as America Online, MSN, or Yahoo Messenger. "IM Auditor is invisible to the user," says Glen Vondrick, FaceTime's president and CEO, "but very visible to the IT department that has to feel confident that they have a record to track what's going on with transactions and trading communications."

FaceTime's ability to interoperate with multiple public instant-messaging servers was an important factor in selecting the vendor, Hahn says. With IM Auditor, which was designed to record IM conversations between customers and call-center reps, Thomas Weisel will meet SEC guidelines and restore IM as a means of communication. "IT is not directly responsible for policing IM use," he says, "but we want to be able to audit, record, and log IM correspondence."