Question about RE 7.96 patch 7 delay

Hey everyone,


Just wanted to chime in real quick. This can be a tricky discussion topic that can get confusing pretty fast (there are certainly shades of gray when we start talking about what is and is not required), but I'll try to clarify and keep the explanation as simple as I can.


First of all, we certainly recommend that you stay onthe most current version or Raiser's Edge available if at all possible. This not only ensures that you are TLS compliant, but it puts you in the best possible position to take advantage of any new features and/or bug fixes that have been and will be released. it also puts you in a better position if and when you encounter a bug that we need to address. If we're able to deliver a patch to address your reported issue, you'll be able to apply it much easier if you're already on the latest version.


Now if your concern for the moment is TLS compliance, upgrading to 7.96 is the most important change to focus on. That release contains all the changes you need to ensure that you are leveraging TLS 1.1+ for all payment processing, which is the focus of the upcoming PCI deadline.


If you have a desire to literally disable TLS 1.0 on your server and workstations through a windows registry setting, there is an additional change needed that will be contained in a future patch of RE (which we expect to be made generally available for self-hosted clients in February 2018). From what I understand, this is not necessary or legally required for the PCI mandate, and taking this step may impact other internal systems or applications. That said, we have had a few organizations report that their PCI auditor/assessor has requested that they take this additional step, so we want to make sure RE fully supports it (which is where the change in the upcoming patch comes in).


I see a quesiton or two about the Consent record feature in this thread as well. I want to be clear that that feature is, in no way, related to TLS changes or needs. It will, however, help organizations that are required to comply with the upcoming GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rules do so. It may also serve as a general best practice for all organizations, not just those desiring GDPR compliance. The Consent record feature will be delivered through a series of patches to RE 7.96. The first features associated with Consent records are expected to be delivered in the same patch referenced above (which as a reminder, we expect to be made generally available to self-hosted clients in Feburary 2018). At least one more patch will be released later in the year that will contain additional features related to Consent records (likely things like support for Importing and Querying the records, however the specific list of which features are included in which patch is still being finalized). That additional patch is currently expected to be made available in April 2018, but that is subject to change.


I hope this helps! I'll try to check back in on this thread in a couple days to see if there are any additional questions about anything I mentioned above.



Thanks,

Jarod Bonino

Product Manager, Raiser's Edge