Based on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Trust Services Principles and Criteria, the SOC2 Type 2 audit is recognized as the authoritative standard for IT audits. This audit included a comprehensive examination of USAble Life’s practices, policies, and procedures in addition to tests of data security controls.
“We are as vigilant in protecting our customers’ personal information as we are in protecting their financial wellness,” said Kendall Kirby, Vice President of USAble Life Information Technology. Kendall oversees information security, business systems, datacenter operations, data architecture, web and application development, telecommunications, and the service desk.
On a typical day, Kendall monitors the work of 97 staff members who troubleshoot an average 20,000 IT service requests annually for more than 30 systems. He also oversees the company’s remote IT operations where servers are secured in Tier 3 data centers with full redundancy.
Kendall cites the 2015 Anthem data breach affecting nearly 79 million people as the wake-up call the industry got about the real costs of security vulnerabilities. Following the breach, data security jumped to the forefront of Blue Plans when the National Blue Association urged all Blues and their vendors to get a SOC report.
HoganTaylor LLP conducted the USAble Life SOC2 audit and reported no significant findings and only minor exceptions. A summary of the report is available upon request.
The man who was told he might never reach his 16th birthday due to bone cancer just celebrated his 25th year in the insurance industry. Kendall Kirby, USAble Life’s Vice President of Information Technology, has been beating the odds his entire life.
Kendall grew up in Manila, Ark. where he developed a strong work ethic. His father is a master plumber, master electrician, and HVAC/R contractor. Kendall worked in his father’s business until graduating from college and eventually earned his master electrical license.
“I’ve been drawing a paycheck since I was eight years old,” said Kendall, with a wry smile.
Kendall and his wife, Debbie, live in West Little Rock and are proud parents of daughter, Shelby, a graduate of Loyola University.
After earning a degree in computer science, Kendall began making his way in the IT industry. He joined USAble Life in 1993, spent a decade with Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and returned to USAble Life in 2008.
In his last 10 years with the company, Kendall has championed advances that have transformed the company’s IT infrastructure into a leading program that supports the growing USAble Life of today.
Although serious about his work and the responsibility that comes with it, Kendall is a Renaissance man. Some of his hobbies include drawing, woodworking, traveling, and reading. A lifelong Marvel fan, he has been a voracious reader of comic books since before he started kindergarten.
Kendall and his wife just returned from a bucket list trip to Rome, Tuscany, and Florence, Italy.
“Seeing Michelangelo’s David and the Sistine Chapel had been a lifelong dream since I received my first World Book Encyclopedias.” On the trip, Kendall was lucky enough to meet Maestro Andrea Bocelli, the great Italian tenor.
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