Cybersecurity Compliance

Cybersecurity compliance is the practice of conforming to established standards, regulations, and laws to protect digital information and systems from cybersecurity threats. By implementing specific policies, procedures, and controls, organizations meet the requirements set by various governing bodies. This enables these organizations to demonstrate their commitment to cybersecurity best practices and legal mandates.

Why Is Compliance Important in Cybersecurity?

No organization is completely immune from experiencing a cyberattack, meaning that complying with cybersecurity standards and regulations is paramount. It can be a determining factor in an organization’s ability to reach success, have smooth operations and maintain security practices.

Small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can be a major target because they’re considered low-hanging fruit. And in the United States, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified 16 critical infrastructure sectors (CIS) that are the most important to protect because a breach could have a debilitating effect on national security, the economy, public health and safety, or more.

SMBs may not prioritize cybersecurity or cybersecurity compliance, making it easier for hackers to exploit their vulnerabilities and execute damaging, costly cyberattacks. According to a 2020 Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) survey,  only 40% of SMBs implemented cybersecurity policies in light of the remote work shift during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Information and Processes Subject to Cybersecurity Compliance

Cybersecurity compliance laws aim to protect three primary types of sensitive data: personally identifiable information (PII), financial information, and protected health information (PHI). 

Personally Identifiable Information

PII is any information that can be used to identify a consumer or an individual. Identity theft is typically the result of a PII breach, and according to Consumer Affairs, identity theft alone jumped by 22.7% between 2021 and 2022.

Financial Information

Financial information is one of the most common targets among cybercriminals. With the right information, criminals can drain consumers’ bank accounts, open new accounts in their names, and commit multiple types of fraud. 

Protected Health Information

While health information isn’t a common target among cybercriminals, individuals have a right to privacy. As such, any company or organization that collects, uses, transfers, and analyzes PHI must remain in compliance with federal, state, and local laws to prevent data breaches. 

Other Data Subject to Regulation

In some cases and industries, other types of information may fall under cybersecurity compliance requirements. 

Benefits of Cybersecurity Compliance

Having proper cybersecurity compliance measures is beneficial to organizations for several reasons:

• Protects their reputation
• Maintains customer or client trust
• Builds customer confidence and loyalty
• Helps identify, interpret and prepare for potential data breaches
• Improves an organization’s security posture

Many of these benefits can directly impact an organization’s bottom line. It’s widely understood that a positive reputation, garnering customer loyalty and confidence, and maintaining trust are critical factors that lead to success.

Aside from these benefits, maintaining cybersecurity compliance can improve an organization’s security posture and protect intellectual property (IP) like trade secrets, product specifications and software code.

Significance of cybersecurity compliance

It’s important to acknowledge cybersecurity compliance isn’t solely a collection of strict and mandatory requirements coming from regulatory bodies it’s consequential to overall business success.

Risk assessment instrument

Necessary compliance obligations incorporate a collection of rules and regulations that review the most crucial systems, and procedures responsible for securing sensitive data businesses are collecting and managing. Establishing the best security practices ‘by the book’ diminishes the probability of an error within the processes.

Industry standard

Alignment of security practice standards among businesses helps IT professionals, compliance officers, and overlaying regulations set and supervise cybersecurity standards, avoiding misinterpretations and overlaying complicated operations among companies.

Avoid regulatory fines

Conducting sufficient practices that adhere to regulatory requirements is advised to prevent regulatory penalties that follow unfortunate events of a data breach exposed customer personal data, whether an internal or external breach that came to public knowledge.

How to Start a Cybersecurity Compliance Program

If you’ve gotten this far, you may be wondering how to start a cybersecurity compliance program within your organization. It may seem like a daunting task because there is no one-size-fits-all approach. However, following the five steps below can help you start developing your compliance program to reap the benefits and meet regulatory compliance requirements. The compliance team and risk management process and policies are all part of this.

1. Creating a Compliance Team

Your organization’s IT team is the primary force for cybersecurity compliance. Forming a compliance team is necessary when implementing a thorough compliance program.

While IT teams typically handle most cybersecurity processes, general cybersecurity does not exist in a vacuum. In other words, all departments within an organization need to work together to maintain a good cybersecurity posture and help with compliance measures.

2. Setting Up a Risk Analysis Process

Although naming conventions will vary by compliance program, there are four basic steps in the risk analysis process:

1. Identify: Any information systems, assets or networks that access data must be identified.
2. Assess: Review data and assess the risk level of each type. Rate the risk of all locations that data will pass through in its lifecycle.
3. Analyze: Use this analysis formula to determine risk: Likelihood of Breach x Impact or Cost
4. Set Tolerance: Decide to mitigate, transfer, refute or accept any determined risks.

3. Setting Controls: How to Mitigate or Transfer Risk

The next step would be to set up security controls that mitigate or transfer cybersecurity risks. A cybersecurity control is a mechanism to prevent, detect and mitigate cyberattacks and threats. The controls can be technical controls, such as passwords and access control lists, or physical controls such as surveillance camera and fences.

These controls can also be:

• Encryption
• Network firewalls
• Password policies
• Cyber insurance
• Employee training
• Incident response plan
• Access control
• Patch management schedule

Demand for these controls is high, meaning plenty of cybersecurity solutions are available that can help you with this step. For an example of security and privacy controls, visit the NIST 800-53 Risk Management Framework and go to Section 2.4 Security and Privacy Controls.

4. Creating Policies

Now that controls are in place, you must document any policies regarding these controls or guidelines that IT teams, employees and other stakeholders need to follow. Forming these policies will also come in handy for any internal or external audits in the future.

5. Monitoring and Quick Response

It’s crucial to continuously monitor your compliance program as regulations emerge or existing policies are updated. The goal of a compliance program is to identify and manage risks and catch cyberthreats before they turn into a full-blown data breach. It’s also important to have business processes in place that allow you to remediate quickly when attacks happen.

Major cybersecurity compliance requirements

Many different cybersecurity regulation requirements establish cybersecurity compliance standards. Even though they are distinct methods, generally, their target content coincides with each other and aims for the same goal — create rules that are simple to follow and adapt to the company technology environment, ultimately safeguarding sensitive data.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal statute signed into law in 1996. It covers sensitive health-relevant information , and entities must comply with the HIPAA privacy standards if they transmit health information electronically in connection with covered transactions to process claims, receive payment, or share information.

FISMA

The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) controls the federal U.S. systems that protect national security & economic interest information, operations, and assets from the risk of breaches. Information security policy, published in 2002, is an extensive framework that administrates and implements risk management governance within government structures and business associates.

PCI-DSS

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) is a non-federal information security requirement to implement credit card data protection and security controls. Major credit card provider companies manage the standard, and the PCI Security Standards Council administrates it — the main goal is to protect cardholder data.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is data protection and privacy law published in 2016 that covers European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries. GDPR establishes a legal framework that guides EU-based individuals’ personal data collection and protection.

Become a Cybersecurity Compliance Professional

Cybersecurity compliance grows more complex with every passing year. Organizations must remain in compliance at all times to protect the consumers who trust them and to prevent significant losses. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment of cybersecurity professionals like information security analysts to grow an astounding 32% between 2022 and 2032. 

Never has there been a better time to consider a career in cybersecurity. The online M.S. in Cyber Security program at The University of Tulsa can equip students to meet modern cybersecurity demands and prepare them for important leadership positions across multiple industries, such as finance, health care, and IT. Discover how you can do your part to keep sensitive information safe by becoming a cybersecurity compliance professional. 

Cybersecurity Compliance Risks

Regulatory Complexity: Navigating a complex web of overlapping regulations and standards can be overwhelming.  

Data Breach and Financial Loss: Non-compliance can lead to significant financial penalties, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust.

Operational Disruption: Compliance efforts can consume valuable resources and disrupt business operations if not managed effectively.

Employee Non-Compliance: Human error and lack of awareness can lead to accidental breaches and compliance violations.  

Evolving Threat Landscape: Cyber threats are constantly changing, making it difficult to stay ahead of emerging risks.

Cybersecurity Compliance Solutions

Risk Assessment and Management

• Identify Critical Assets: Determine the most valuable data and systems to prioritize protection efforts.
• Conduct Threat Assessments: Evaluate potential threats and vulnerabilities to your organization.
• Implement Risk Mitigation Strategies: Develop and execute plans to address identified risks.

Compliance Framework Adoption

• Choose the Right Framework: Select a compliance framework that aligns with your industry and business needs (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, GDPR).
• Implement Controls: Establish and enforce security controls to meet framework requirements.
• Monitor and Review: Continuously assess compliance status and make necessary adjustments

Employee Training and Awareness

• Develop a Security Awareness Program: Educate employees about cybersecurity best practices and their role in protecting the organization.
• Conduct Regular Training: Provide ongoing training to keep employees updated on emerging threats and compliance requirements.  
• Promote a Security Culture: Foster a culture of security where employees feel empowered to report suspicious activities.

Technology Solutions

• Implement Security Tools: Utilize firewalls, intrusion detection systems, antivirus software, and other security technologies.
• Data Encryption: Protect sensitive data with strong encryption methods.
• Access Controls: Limit access to systems and data based on the principle of least privilege.

How to build a cybersecurity compliance plan

Above listed regulatory requirements and international standards for security systems are just a few most common ones it might depend on the industry and territory your business is operating in. 

1. Compliance team

Every organization — small or large — should have dedicated personnel that has skills and knowledge in assessing cybersecurity compliance. Clear ownership and responsibility help maintain an updated and responsive cybersecurity environment and create an agile approach towards threats and challenges.

2. Risk analysis

Establish and review a risk analysis process to see in what direction the organization is already going and what it’s missing. Breakdown of this risk analysis process requires:

• Identification —distinguish information assets, information systems, and networks they use access to;
• Assessment — set the risk level of each data type. Ascertain where high-risk information is stored, transmitted, and collected;
• Analysis — determine risk impact. Usually, it’s done by this formula: Risk = (Likelihood of breach x Impact) / Cost
• Setting risk tolerance — categorize and prioritize the risks by transferring, refusing, accepting, or mitigating the risk.

3. Setting security controls

Work on what security measures the organization will implement to handle the risk. Controls contain:

• Data encryption
• Network firewalls
• Password policies
• Network access control
• Incident response plan

4. Policies & procedures

Documentation of security-oriented operations and processes is a go-to handbook for establishing clear and sufficient security programs. It helps systematically align, revise, and audit the organization’s compliance with security requirements.

5. Monitor & respond

Active monitoring provides constant revision of what established security methods paid off, where improvements were needed, helps identify new risks, and responds by updating and implementing required changes.

Cybersecurity Compliance Challenges

Cybersecurity compliance is a critical aspect of modern business, yet it presents numerous hurdles. Let’s delve into some of the most common challenges organizations face.

1. Evolving Regulatory Landscape:
   • Proliferation of Regulations: Organizations must navigate a complex web of overlapping regulations (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc.), each with its own specific requirements.
   • Rapid Changes: Regulatory environments are constantly evolving, making it difficult to stay updated and compliant.
2. Resource Constraints:
   • Limited Budget: Allocating sufficient funds for cybersecurity initiatives, including compliance, can be challenging, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
   • Skill Shortages: Finding qualified cybersecurity professionals to manage compliance efforts is often a bottleneck.
3. Complex IT Environments:
   • Hybrid and Cloud Infrastructure: The increasing adoption of hybrid and cloud environments introduces new security challenges and compliance complexities.
   • Legacy Systems: Older systems may not align with modern security standards, requiring significant investments in upgrades or replacements.
4. Third-Party Risk Management:
   • Supply Chain Attacks: The growing reliance on third-party vendors and suppliers increases the risk of data breaches.
   • Assessing Vendor Compliance: Ensuring that third parties adhere to the same security standards is a complex and ongoing task.
5. Risk Assessment and Prioritization:
   • Overwhelming Data: Identifying and assessing all potential risks can be overwhelming, making it difficult to prioritize mitigation efforts.
   • Dynamic Threat Landscape: The constantly changing threat landscape requires continuous risk evaluation and adjustment.
6. Employee Awareness and Training:
   • Human Error: Employees are often the weakest link in cybersecurity, making them susceptible to phishing attacks and other social engineering tactics.
   • Effective Training: Developing and delivering comprehensive cybersecurity training programs is crucial but time-consuming.

Overcoming These Challenges

Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach:

• Risk-Based Approach: Focus on assessing and mitigating the most critical risks to the organization.
• Technology Solutions: Leverage cybersecurity tools and automation to streamline compliance processes.
• Employee Education: Invest in ongoing cybersecurity awareness training for all employees.
• Third-Party Risk Management: Implement robust vendor assessment and management programs.
• Compliance Framework Adoption: Consider adopting a standardized compliance framework (e.g., NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001) to simplify the process.

Best Practices for Cybersecurity Compliance

Cybersecurity compliance is a complex and ever-evolving landscape. Here are some fundamental best practices to help your organization navigate this challenge:

Foundational Steps

• Identify Applicable Regulations: Determine the specific laws and standards relevant to your industry and organization (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS).
• Conduct a Risk Assessment: Evaluate potential threats and vulnerabilities to your systems and data. This helps prioritize compliance efforts.
• Develop a Comprehensive Compliance Program: Create a structured plan outlining policies, procedures, and responsibilities.
• Implement Strong Access Controls: Enforce robust password policies, multi-factor authentication, and role-based access controls.
• Regularly Update Systems and Software: Keep operating systems, applications, and security patches up-to-date to address vulnerabilities.
• Employee Training and Awareness: Conduct regular cybersecurity training to educate employees about threats and best practices.

Advanced Practices

• Incident Response Plan: Develop a detailed plan for responding to security incidents, including steps to contain, investigate, and recover.
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Implement measures to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
• Third-Party Risk Management: Assess the security posture of vendors and suppliers to mitigate supply chain risks.
• Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation: Regularly review and update your compliance program to adapt to evolving threats and regulations.
• Leverage Technology: Utilize security tools and automation to streamline compliance efforts and enhance protection.
• Consider a Compliance Framework: Adopting a standardized framework (e.g., NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001) can provide a structured approach.

Additional Tips

• Build a Culture of Security: Foster a security-conscious mindset throughout the organization.
• Involve Stakeholders: Ensure buy-in from all levels of the organization.
• Stay Informed: Keep up-to-date with the latest cybersecurity threats and trends.
• Document Everything: Maintain clear and detailed records of compliance activities.

Make Cybersecurity Compliance a Priority

With cyberattacks on the rise and more cybersecurity and data protection legislation emerging, now is the time to learn more about cybersecurity compliance. No organization wants to put itself or its customers at risk of data breaches in a threatening cybersecurity environment.

Hopefully, you know more about cybersecurity compliance and how certain compliance standards impact your organization. Whether you need to meet HIPAA, SOC 2 or PCI DSS requirements, there are plenty of cybersecurity solutions that can help you get there and stay compliant.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity compliance is an indispensable component of modern business operations. It safeguards sensitive data, maintains customer trust, and mitigates the financial and reputational risks associated with cyberattacks.

While achieving compliance can be challenging due to evolving threats, regulatory changes, and resource constraints, it is essential to prioritize a proactive approach. By implementing robust security measures, fostering a culture of security, and staying informed about the latest threats, organizations can effectively manage compliance obligations.

cybersecurity compliance is not a destination but an ongoing journey. Regular assessment, adaptation, and improvement are crucial to maintaining a strong security posture in the face of ever-changing cyber threats.

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