Updated May 5, 2026
Quick answer:
To secure data, organizations must protect it at every stage of its lifecycle: from the moment it is collected, through transmission, storage, and eventual deletion.
In practice, that means encryption (TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, AES-256 at rest), role-based access controls and SSO, compliance with the regulations that apply to your business (such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS), and using vendors that hold independent certifications including SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and FedRAMP. Securing data starts at the point of intake, not after it reaches your CRM.
If you are collecting any kind of information from your customers, data security is non-negotiable. Consumers are more cautious than ever about handing personal information to businesses for fear of breaches and misuse, and regulators are imposing stricter rules and larger fines every year.
According to Securelist, 70% of web applications contain vulnerabilities tied to access control issues. When those issues are exploited, businesses are liable, even when the breach happens through a third-party vendor. As the organization that originally collected the data, you are responsible to your customers as a data steward.
FormAssembly takes data security seriously, and we want to give you the information and tools to keep customer data secure. This guide covers what secure data means, the threats your organization needs to defend against, the regulations that govern how you handle customer information, and the technical and organizational controls FormAssembly uses to protect data at the point of intake.
What is secure data?
Secure data is information that is protected against unauthorized access, modification, loss, and disclosure throughout its entire lifecycle. Data is considered secure when it is governed by encryption in transit and at rest, access controls that limit who can see or change it, monitoring that detects unusual activity, and policies that align with applicable laws and certifications.
Securing data is not a single setting. It is the combination of technology, process, and organizational discipline applied from the moment data enters your systems through the day it is permanently deleted.
Why data security matters
Compromised customer data can put your customers’ identities, finances, and livelihoods at risk. It can also cause irreversible reputational damage to your company. Data security incidents typically arise from a small set of common sources: ignored software patches, poor employee cybersecurity hygiene, weak passwords, social engineering, or insecure third-party vendors.
Whatever the origin, attacks are serious, and the consequences (regulatory fines, breach notification costs, customer loss, and lawsuits) can take years to recover from.
Web forms and secure data collection
Web forms are one of the highest-risk surfaces in any organization. Customers submit everything through them: addresses and phone numbers, but also bank account numbers, health information, social security numbers, and credit card details.
When customers fill out a form on your website, they are placing significant trust in you to keep their data secure. Treating that trust as a baseline operational requirement, rather than something added on after the fact, is what separates organizations that protect data from organizations that leak it.
Threats to secure data collection
Improper access
Unauthorized parties can access data in several ways. Sometimes the access is benign, such as a third-party contractor or employee who happens to see information in a platform you use. More often the access is malicious: phishing, credential theft, social engineering, or exploitation of weak passwords. Mitigations include least-privilege access controls, mandatory single sign-on, and data masking. On FormAssembly’s Enterprise plan, sensitive data is masked by default and only accessible to authorized personnel for specific time windows.
Data collected over insecure connections
Data submitted over an insecure connection can be intercepted in transit. Always confirm that the data you collect is protected by HTTPS and TLS 1.2 or higher. If your website does not have a TLS certificate, redirect respondents to a secure form URL, such as one provided by FormAssembly.
Non-compliance with security and privacy regulations
Regulations vary by industry, geography, and data type. Failing to meet the requirements that apply to your business exposes your organization to fines, audit findings, and customer trust loss. The most common regulations are covered later in this guide.
AI-driven threats
The threat landscape has shifted significantly since 2023. Generative AI has lowered the bar for sophisticated phishing, made deepfake voice and email attacks practical at scale, and introduced new risks around prompt injection in AI-powered form fields and chatbots. When evaluating a data collection vendor, ask how the platform handles automated bot submissions, AI-generated input, and output sanitization on integrated AI features.
Important elements of secure web forms
When collecting any data through web forms, keep these key elements of secure data collection in mind.
Authentication
If you need to guard your forms against unintentional access, authentication using CAS, SAML, or LDAP can help ensure only the right people access your forms.
Encryption
Encryption protects data submitted through forms by scrambling it so it cannot be read without a decryption key. Two layers matter:
- In transit: TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2 or higher encrypts data as it travels between the respondent’s browser and your form provider.
- At rest: AES-256 encryption protects data once it is stored. AES-256 is the same encryption standard used by the U.S. government for classified information.
When data is sent over HTTPS using TLS, three protections apply:
- Encryption: data is unreadable to unauthorized parties.
- Data integrity: data cannot be modified or corrupted in transit without detection.
- Authentication: respondents can confirm they are communicating with the intended website, protecting against man-in-the-middle attacks.
Access controls and single sign-on
Role-based access controls limit who in your organization can see, edit, or export form data. SAML-based single sign-on adds an additional layer by routing authentication through your existing identity provider, so deactivated user accounts immediately lose access to forms and submissions. For organizations operating under HIPAA, GLBA, or similar regulations, role-based access and SSO are typically required, not optional.
Type of data
The type of data you are collecting can matter as much as how you are collecting it. Healthcare data, financial data, and information gathered from EU residents are held to different and stricter standards. Always consider the regulations that apply to your business and the categories of data you handle.
Proper branding
Your forms should reflect the same branding as your organization, so users do not have to wonder whether your forms are legitimate. Use consistent fonts, colors, and logos across your web forms. The easiest way to do this is with a form builder that includes a customizable Theme Editor.
Security certifications to look for in a form vendor
When evaluating a form builder or data collection platform, the certifications a vendor holds are the strongest external signal of how seriously they treat security. Look for:
| Certification | What it confirms |
|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | An independent audit verified that the vendor’s security, availability, and confidentiality controls operated effectively over a multi-month period. |
| ISO 27001 | The vendor follows an international standard for managing information security risk across people, process, and technology. |
| PCI DSS Level 1 | The vendor meets the highest tier of payment card industry security requirements (over six million card transactions per year). |
| FedRAMP Ready or Authorized | The vendor’s cloud service has been assessed against U.S. federal government security requirements. |
| HIPAA-compliant infrastructure | The vendor can sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and meets HIPAA’s administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. |
FormAssembly maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, ISO 27001 certification, PCI DSS Level 1 certification, and FedRAMP Ready status for our Government plan. Full documentation is available in our Trust Center.
Common data security and privacy regulations
The regulations that apply to your business may affect how you collect data and the tools you choose. Below are the most common.
GDPR
The EU General Data Protection Regulation is a data privacy regulation that applies to the European Union and was created to standardize data privacy laws and protect EU residents. GDPR requires businesses to gather consent when collecting data, post a privacy policy, and provide a contact route for data subject requests. Non-compliance carries fines up to 4% of global annual revenue.
HIPAA
The U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act governs the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). Healthcare providers and other HIPAA-covered entities must use a HIPAA-compliant data collection solution and sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the vendor before collecting PHI through web forms. PHI includes 18 identifiers under HIPAA, such as names, geographic identifiers, dates related to an individual, phone and fax numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, medical record numbers, account numbers, biometric identifiers, and full-face photos.
PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard applies to any organization that stores, processes, or transmits payment card data. PCI DSS Level 1 is the highest tier (over six million card transactions per year) and requires the most rigorous controls.
SCA
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is part of Europe’s PSD2 (Second Payment Services Directive) and governs the safety of digital payments in Europe. If you process European card payments, you need an SCA-compliant payment connector.
GLBA
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires financial institutions to clearly communicate how they protect customers’ sensitive financial data. Key requirements include providing privacy notices, developing a comprehensive written information security plan (WISP), and using GLBA-compliant vendors.
CCPA and CPRA
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), expanded by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) in 2023, protects the data privacy of California consumers. CPRA created the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), introduced a category of “sensitive personal information,” and added consumer rights such as the right to correct inaccurate personal information.
Key requirements include:
- Add an opt-out mechanism for the sale or sharing of personal information.
- Update your privacy policy to reflect CPRA disclosures.
- Have a process for consumer requests covering access, deletion, correction, and opt-out.
- Use compliant data management tools and vendors.
FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records. Higher education institutions and K-12 schools that receive federal funds must comply with FERPA when collecting, storing, or sharing student information. Key requirements include obtaining written consent before disclosing personally identifiable information from education records, providing parents and eligible students access to their records, and maintaining clear procedures for record requests and corrections.
FedRAMP
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a U.S. government program that standardizes security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud services used by federal agencies. If you sell to or work with government agencies, your vendors should be FedRAMP Ready or Authorized at the appropriate impact level (Low, Moderate, or High). FormAssembly’s Government plan is FedRAMP Ready.
How FormAssembly secures your data
FormAssembly was built specifically to govern data at the point of collection. The platform applies validation, encryption, and access controls before submitted information reaches your CRM or system of record. Key controls include:
- Encryption: TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, AES-256 at rest.
- Access controls: role-based permissions, SAML-based SSO, and granular admin controls.
- Hosting: AWS-based infrastructure with data residency options across 7 AWS regions.
- Compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, HIPAA, GDPR, and FedRAMP Ready (Government plan).
- Sensitive data handling: field-level masking, automatic file scanning for malware, and configurable data retention policies.
FormAssembly is purpose-built for regulated environments. Healthcare providers, financial institutions, higher education institutions, nonprofits, and government agencies use FormAssembly to govern data intake at the point of collection, where compliance, auditability, and seamless integration are non-negotiable.
For a deeper look at our security posture, visit our Security page or browse compliance documentation in the Trust Center.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to secure data?
Securing data means protecting information from unauthorized access, modification, loss, or disclosure throughout its full lifecycle. This requires encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, regulatory compliance, vendor due diligence, and clear policies for retention and deletion.
How is data secured during transmission?
Data is secured during transmission using TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2 or higher, the standard cryptographic protocol that encrypts traffic between a user’s browser and a web server. TLS protects against eavesdropping and ensures the data has not been altered in transit.
What is the most secure way to collect data through a web form?
The most secure way to collect data through a web form is to use a vendor that encrypts data in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher) and at rest (AES-256), holds independent security certifications such as SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, supports role-based access controls and SSO, and is compliant with the regulations that apply to your industry (HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, GLBA).
What is the difference between data security and data privacy?
Data security focuses on protecting data from unauthorized access and breaches (the “how”). Data privacy focuses on rules around what data can be collected, used, shared, and retained (the “what” and “why”). Both are required to handle customer data responsibly.
What certifications should I look for in a data collection vendor?
At minimum, look for SOC 2 Type II (which validates ongoing operational security controls), PCI DSS Level 1 if payments are involved, ISO 27001 for international risk management standards, and HIPAA-compliant infrastructure if you collect protected health information. For federal use cases, look for FedRAMP Ready or Authorized status.
Is FormAssembly SOC 2 compliant?
Yes. FormAssembly has completed a SOC 2 Type II examination, an independent audit of our security, availability, and confidentiality controls. The full report is available through our Trust Center.
Is FormAssembly FedRAMP authorized?
FormAssembly’s Government plan is FedRAMP Ready. This status signals that the platform has been independently evaluated against federal government security baseline requirements. Visit the Trust Center for the most current authorization details.
Take the next step
Now that you have a clearer picture of how to collect and protect data securely, the next step is to evaluate the platform you use today. If your current form vendor cannot demonstrate the encryption, access controls, and certifications above, it is time to consider an alternative. Request a free trial of FormAssembly today.
