Who is responsible for protecting the Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchised business from viruses and computer hackers?
Benjamin_Franklin_Plumbing Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You are required to implement industry-standard administrative, physical, and technical security measures and devices, including firewalls and anti-virus systems, to protect your systems and data from unauthorized access, acquisition, loss, destruction, disclosure or transfer. You are solely responsible for protecting the Franchised Business from viruses, computer hackers and other communications and computer-related problems. You must update and patch your systems, at your expense, as the software and technology vendors release them to ensure your computer system is adequately protected from cyber threats. You may buy the firewall protection system, the virus protection and the content management software programs from any company that sells them. You will be solely responsible for data and data breaches and the
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 46–57)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing FDD, the franchisee is solely responsible for protecting their franchised business from viruses, computer hackers, and other computer-related problems. This includes implementing industry-standard security measures such as firewalls and anti-virus systems to safeguard their systems and data from unauthorized access, loss, or disclosure.
The FDD emphasizes that franchisees must regularly update and patch their systems at their own expense as software and technology vendors release updates. This ensures that the computer system remains adequately protected from cyber threats. Franchisees have the flexibility to choose their firewall protection system, virus protection, and content management software programs from any company that sells them.
Furthermore, the franchisee bears sole responsibility for data and data breaches. This allocation of responsibility is typical in franchising, where franchisees manage their day-to-day operations and must take appropriate measures to secure their own systems and data. Prospective Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisees should factor in the costs of robust cybersecurity measures when evaluating the overall investment.