The Federal Trade Commission suggests that all businesses have a security plan in place to keep personal data safe and secure. The FTC provides free resources to businesses for security best practices.
One of these resources provides guidance on protecting personal information. The guide, Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business, offers 5 key principles and several checklists for analyzing security compliance.
According to the Guide, a sound data security plan is built on 5 key principles:
The guide, including the checklists, can be accessed here.