On-line Privacy and Security
Your privacy on the Internet is as important to us as your safety when
driving a BMW, which is why we at BMW Group Company believe in an
active approach to safeguarding your privacy on-line. You can interact
and remain assured that you are protected by confidentiality,
security, and your individual right to change your mind.
Confidentiality
In certain areas of this site you may choose to share personal
information with us, such as your name, address or even your driving
interests. We may use this information for marketing research and
other marketing and service related purposes like sending brochures
you request and keeping in touch by e-mail. Any personal information
you choose to share with us will not be disclosed to anyone outside of
BMW, our related companies, or our business partners who are
contractually obligated to keep personal information confidential,
unless required by law (see BMW Financial Services Privacy Policy
below for details). We will never exchange or sell your personal
information to any other company. Customer telephone calls may be
recorded to protect you and our staff.
Owners' Circle: Account Setup
To set up an account, we do ask users to provide a valid VIN for
vehicles purchased in the United States. In order to set up an owner's
circle account we do require users to provide a valid email address,
as well as create a unique user name and password. In addition this
area allows you to receive personalized BMW news and information via
email. Users can be removed from the Owners' Circle by emailing a
request to the webmaster.
Security
All information in our possession requires a unique password and
username to access it. With this password you can edit, delete or add
to information you have shared while visiting our site. Additionally,
the information you include in a credit application is secure while in
transit to us.
Site Traffic Monitoring
We collect anonymous information about every visit to our site by
tracking Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on an aggregate basis. We do
not link IP addresses to any personal information associated to the
individual visitor. We use this information only to determine how to
make future visits more convenient and productive for all BMW
enthusiasts. We also collect browser type, access time, and the URL
where a user is entering or exiting the site.
Cookies
Cookies produce a luxury and convenience similar to that of memory
seats. They save you the trouble of reentering certain information in
some registration areas, help to deliver content specific information
to you, and track which sections of the site are most popular. The
cookies we use are elements of data stored by your browser on your
hard drive. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally
identifiable information. They are used on the site only to store and
access the unique username and e-mail address you have provided us
within My BMW. For example, in the registration area requesting your
user name and e-mail address, cookies allow us to fill in that
information for you. Another type of cookie we use stores data on your
hard drive specifically to save information regarding the Build Your
BMW. Within the Build Your BMW, users have the ability to build their
ideal BMW and save it on our server. We use this type of cookie to
identify which saved vehicle you customized. Failure to accept cookies
within the Build Your BMW will not allow you to save your customized
BMW. Our use of cookies is controlled and guided by our policy on
confidentiality shown above.
Subscriptions
You will only receive e-mails or mailings from BMW of North America if
you have requested to be on our correspondence list. If you are
currently on our list and do not wish to receive further information
from us, simply tell us by updating your preferences in the My BMW
section. Any personal information you share with us can be updated at
any time in the My BMW section.
Correcting/Updating Personal
Information
When a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as zip
code), or if a user no longer is interested in our service and we are
notified of such changes, we will endeavor to correct, update or
remove that user's personal data provided to us. Your Personal
information can be updated at any time in the My BMW section.
Links
Though our site contains links to other sites, we are not responsible
for the content, links or privacy on any of those sites.
E-mail Links
We use e-mail links throughout the site to allow you to contact us
directly with any questions or comments you may have. We read every
message and try to reply promptly to every one. Information in the
message is used to respond directly to your comments or questions. We
may also file your comments to improve the site and programs, or
review and discard the information. Your personal information is not
shared with third parties without your explicit permission.
BMW Financial Services
In order to register for the BMW Financial Services, specifically for
our online personal banking or BMW credit card, we require information
such as name, email address and mailing address. We also required
additional information such as social security number, drivers license
and date of birth. The information is strictly used to verify a
person’s identity and is not shared with any other party without
your explicit consent.
Banking Security
Transaction Security:
The banking services site has SSL Version 3 (Secure Sockets layer)
from Netscape. This provides a "security handshake" to
initiate the connection. This encrypts and decrypts the data sent. The
encryption is based upon technology that uses military-grade
public/private key encrypted information in the client request and
server response. All information is fully encrypted, such as the
content of terms submitted (i.e., credit card numbers), access
authorization information (such as user names and passwords), and data
returned from the server to the client. Secure SSL sessions are
established in BMW Online Services areas where your personal
information is being transmitted, including online services, account
related e-mail, and customer service areas.
Server Security:
The servers are protected by several security mechanisms. First,
Filtering Routers restrict access to only approved network paths.
Second, firewalls limit access and prevent certain attacks. Checkpoint
Firewall-1, a leading product in the firewall industry, is backed up
by Hewlett Packard's Virtual Vault. Virtual Vault helps create a
secure environment for financial Web applications and helps protect
against errors in server software and its applications. Application
and Insider Security: Virtual Vault also provides strong
authentication of customers and proper enforcement of authorization
for transaction requests. Within Virtual Vault there is an application
that provides the only access between inside and outside compartments.
The Trusted Gateway also validates URL references and performs certain
other calculations to prevent unauthorized scripts from being
executed. Virtual Vault also has insider security application. With
Virtual Vault, users must log into their own accounts and may access
only the administrative commands for which they have authorization.
Virtual Vault also provides an audit trail to trace unusual or
unauthorized transactions.
External Server Security:
The server must interface to the external server that is used by the
financial institution for core processing, such as balance inquires,
history inquiries, and monetary transactions. These interfaces are
done through firewalls and Encrypting Routers using Virtual Private
Network (VPN) technologies. VPN creates a secure encrypted tunnel from
a router or firewall to a matching device on the other end of the
network.
Some Privacy FAQs:
Q. Will BMW Financial Services
retain and collect my personal information?
A. We collect, retain and use information about you only where we
reasonably believe that it will help administer our business. We must
be able to identify and distinguish you and your products and services
to prevent unauthorized entities from accessing your personal
financial information.
Q. What should I do when I have
finished accessing confidential data?
A. When you have finished using a secure area of the BMW Web site,
make sure you always click on the "Log Out Button." When you
click on it, you will be given the option to end your secure session.
No further secure transactions can be conducted without re-entering
your User-ID and password.
Q. Why can I still see some of my
account information even after I have pressed the "Exit Secure
Area" link?
A. Browser software often "caches" pages as you look at
them, meaning that some pages are saved in your computer's temporary
memory. Therefore, you may find that clicking on your back button
shows you a saved version of a previously viewed page. Please keep in
mind that caching in no way affects the security of your confidential
User-ID or password. If you use your computer in a public place,
please read below.
Q. What should I do if I am using a
"public" computer?
A. If you use a computer that others also work and you are
uncomfortable that they may view "cached" pages after you
have left the station, quit/exit your browser software before leaving.
This will decrease the possibility of anyone viewing confidential
information. No other users will be able to access your account
information online without your User-ID and password.
Questions
If you have further questions about our Privacy Policy, the practices
of our site or your experience with our site, you may contact the Site
Representative.
Legal
By visiting this site you are agreeing to the terms as outlined above
and in the Legal section. We reserve the right to change our Privacy
Policy at any time.
Privacy
Policy
