HORSHAM, Pa., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- NCO Group, Inc. ("NCO"), a global provider of business process outsourcing services, is pleased to announce that it has received their Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Certification from the Department of Education.

According to the National Institute of National Standards and Technology, "The act recognized the importance of information security to the economic and national security interests of the United States. The act requires each federal agency to develop, document, and implement an agency-wide program to provide information security for the information and information systems that support the operations and assets of the agency, including those provided or managed by another agency, contractor, or other source."

This year, the Federal Student Aid (FSA) changed its requirements to establish a continuous monitoring program to ensure that controls are reviewed on a consistent basis and that documentation is up to date. To that end, the US Department of Education required that its third-party collections agencies comply with FISMA and to ensure that the system maintains its accreditation and "Authorization to Process" by the end of October 2009. On October 2nd, 2009, NCO was one of only a handful of agencies to submit final documentation and complete the certification process in 2009.

This certification further strengthens NCO commitment in providing information security to its clients and their customers.

General information regarding the FISMA certification and process can be viewed here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FISMA

About NCO

NCO Group, Inc. is a global provider of business process outsourcing services, primarily focused on accounts receivable management and customer relationship management. NCO provides services through over 100 offices in the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Panama, the Caribbean, India, Mexico, Guatemala, the United Kingdom, and Australia. For more information, visit www.ncogroup.com .

About FISMA

FISMA's vision is to promote the development of key security standards and guidelines to support the implementation of and compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act.

FISMA Information

http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SMA/fisma/index.html

SOURCE NCO Group, Inc.

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http://www.ncogroup.com