Cybersecurity compliance: everything you need to know

Compliance is critical for preventing data breaches and maintaining the trust of customers and stakeholders. Organizations must continuously evaluate and improve their security posture to meet changing compliance requirements.

Companies are encouraged to implement a systematic risk governance approach that adheres to regulatory authorities, laws, and industry-relevant units, and establishes controls to meet data management and protection requirements. It defines industry standards that translate to instrumental reliability reflection for customers to indicate satisfactory service delivery.

Breach-response and notification obligations depend on the applicable law or standard (e.g., General Data Protection Regulation, HIPAA, state laws). An information security management system (ISMS) should define processes that meet those specific requirements.

IT security compliance helps set up continuous monitoring and assessment processes of devices, networks, and systems to cohere with regulatory cybersecurity compliance requirements. Such a compliance program allows organizations to analyze risk, create a framework to protect sensitive data, and mitigate data breach threats.

Significance of cybersecurity compliance

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

Any company is at risk of becoming a victim of a cyber-attack. Especially, small enterprises tend to make themselves a low-hanging fruit for criminals as it's popular to assume that if you are insignificant in size, potential threats will pass by. However, hesitation to invest in a strong cybersecurity posture exposes vulnerabilities that interest hostile actors.

Despite the company's size, data breaches quickly escalate, snowballing to very complex situations that damage the company's reputation and financial capacity, ending up in legal proceedings and disputes that may take years to resolve. Meeting cybersecurity compliance standards allays the major threat factor and what comes with it.

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.

Clear guidelines help follow the risk assessment checklist that targets vulnerabilities and focus on priorities when creating and implementing a cybersecurity framework within the organization. Data protection laws and regulations are fundamental for building a solid cybersecurity program strategy backbone.

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.

Aligned procedures and a cybersecurity framework can be treated as a risk prevention measure for consumers who don't have to research every company's security standards if they fulfill user expectations to secure their data. Unified policies make B2B and B2C service transactions more simplified and optimized, saving valuable resources and establishing knowledge to make relevant decisions.

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.

In case of misconduct, regulatory bodies investigate it thoroughly and usually result in a massive fine. On the one hand, it is a reminder that it's businesses' responsibility to ensure sound security compliance procedures towards third-party interests; on the other, it's to send a message to other companies that data protection is indeed not a joke.

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: to create rules that are simple to follow and adapt to the company's technology environment, ultimately safeguarding sensitive data.

Major compliance requirements, such as PCI-DSS, may apply locally and internationally, depending on variability, whether the business location or in which markets it operates and processes data. Regulatory controls also govern what kind of data organizations store and what type of information they consist of.

The main focus is data security, which contains personal information that helps identify a person: full name, personal number, social security number, address, date of birth, or other private information like individual health. Companies with access to confidential data come at greater risk as it's a common target of cyber-attacks.

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.

The HIPAA rules and regulations set limits on uses and disclosures of PHI and require authorization for many non-routine purposes. The Act establishes three fundamental parts: Privacy rules, Security rules, and Breach notification rules to report the incident. The HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to covered entities and their business associates handling U.S. PHI, even if a business associate is outside the U.S.; obligations flow through BA agreements and U.S. enforcement mechanisms.

FISMA

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) establishes requirements for federal information security programs. It was first enacted in 2002 and modernized in 2014 (with further updates since), with implementation guided by OMB and NIST.

The FISMA defines minimal requirements for security to maintain threat prevention for national-level agency systems. The Act aligns with active laws, executive orders, and directives to address compliance with cybersecurity procedures within the information security programs. The framework scope covers information system inventory, maintains system security plan and controls, conducts risk assessments, and ensures continuous monitoring.

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.

The PCI-DSS standard applies to merchants that handle payment information despite the number of transactions or credit cards processed per month. Business owners must comply with 12 standard requirements that include firewall configuration, password protection, and data encryption, restrict access to credit card information, develop and maintain security systems, processes and policies.

Non-compliant entities risk losing their merchant license, meaning not accepting credit card payments for several years. Non-compliance with PCI-DSS can lead to payment-brand and acquirer penalties (often significant, potentially millions, depending on the incident), increased fees, and even loss of the ability to accept cards.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a data protection and privacy law adopted in 2016. It has been applied since 2018 across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries. GDPR establishes a legal framework that guides EU-based individuals' personal data collection and protection.

The GDPR obliges companies to provide clear terms and conditions regarding customer data collection policies and enable individuals to manage their data availability without restrictions. Under the General Data Protection Regulation, organizations must have a lawful basis for processing—such as consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task, or legitimate interests.

ISO/IEC 27001

ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard for implementing and managing an Information Security Management System (ISMS) that belongs to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 27000 family of standards.

ISO/IEC 27001 certification shows that an organization’s ISMS meets the standard within the certified scope. It strengthens security governance but does not guarantee complete protection. The standard covers thorough operational actions and practices to build a resilient and reliable cybersecurity management system.

How to build a cybersecurity compliance plan

The regulatory requirements and international standards for security systems listed above are just a few of the most common ones — it might depend on the industry and territory your business operates in. Although cybersecurity regulation is based chiefly on necessary compliance obligations that initially are straightforward, it also might leave an overwhelming impression.

To simplify complicated concepts, it's always good to deconstruct everything into simple steps. Therefore, let's set up a starting point for any organization to begin and move forward by assessing cybersecurity risks and implementing a cybersecurity program.

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 to access;
• Assessment: set the risk level of each data type. Ascertain where high-risk information is stored, transmitted, and collected;
• Analysis: determine risk impact. A common approach during risk assessments is to assess risk as the combination of likelihood and impact
• 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
• Employee training
• Insurance

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, which should include periodic risk assessments, 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.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity compliance is crucial for the protection of sensitive information and for maintaining trust. Organizations that adhere to established standards and regulations can protect themselves against cyber threats and data breaches. This protection ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information.

The process of establishing a comprehensive cybersecurity compliance plan includes the assembly of a dedicated compliance team, the conduct of thorough risk analyses, the implementation of robust security controls, the development of clear policies and procedures, and the maintenance of vigilant monitoring and response protocols.

These measures mitigate risks and demonstrate an organization's commitment to security, fostering trust among customers, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies. The embrace of cybersecurity compliance represents a strategic investment in an organization's long-term success and reputation.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The laws, regulations, and penalties discussed are subject to change and may have been updated since the time of publication. We recommend consulting with a qualified legal professional for guidance on your specific compliance needs.