What Does It Mean to be Compliant?

What Does It Mean to be Compliant?

If you are operating a business in a specific industry, you’re required to abide by a particular set of rules. For many companies, compliance is a complicated business challenge. Many companies have often found themselves on the wrong side of the law because they do not meet or follow these requirements.

According to a Globalscape report, companies have lost an average of 1,955,674 US Dollars in penalties and fines due to non-compliance. For many other companies, the repercussions of non-compliance have been in the form of business disruptions, reputational damage, or even a complete shutdown of operations. But what exactly does it mean to be compliant?

Check out our latest video to learn about being compliant:

Compliance refers to a company’s adherence to rules, regulations, laws, and guidelines that govern how their business should operate. These guidelines will vary depending on the industry, structure of the company, and location. The state, a governing body, or a federal agency may establish these regulations

How Can You Ensure Industrial Compliance?

Compliance regulations vary depending on the industry. Some industries are heavily regulated compared to others. For example, the healthcare industry and financial institutions are subject to strict regulatory compliance to protect client and patient data from malicious attackers.

Examples of these industry regulations include:

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): This Act prohibits the disclosure of sensitive patient data without the patient’s consent.
• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX): It requires all companies trading publicly to implement and report internal accounting controls to the SEC for compliance.
• The Federal Information Security Management Act(FISMA): This act requires federal agencies to establish, document, and implement an information security and protection program.
• The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS): This outlines the procedure all companies must follow when processing, transmitting and storing a consumer’s debit or credit card information.

In IT, compliance regulations are established to enhance data security. These guidelines provide businesses with acceptable standards for setting up cybersecurity policies.

What Is Cybersecurity Compliance? Cybercriminals are always innovating new ways to compromise your cybersecurity. As the frequency and severity of cyberattacks continue to increase, regulation authorities are continually seeking to establish more effective and rigid compliance regulations to enhance data security.

Cybersecurity compliance involves the implementation of programs enacted by a regulatory body to establish security controls that help protect the integrity and confidentiality of data.

How Can Your Business Become CyberSecurity Compliant? Are you thinking of making your business cybersecurity compliant? The following steps will act as guidance.

1. Determine the Type of Data You Process and What Compliance Regulations Apply to You: The type of data you handle will determine the compliance regulations you need to conform to in becoming compliant.
2. Hire or Appoint Compliance Experts: The complexity of regulatory compliance requires expertise. The compliance experts you hire need to familiarize themselves with all aspects of your business to help cover all conceivable areas of risk.
3. Conduct a Comprehensive Risk Analysis: Your compliance experts perform a comprehensive analysis of your current cybersecurity situation to determine your vulnerabilities and the security controls you already have in place. The team should then suggest security measures that need to be implemented or modified to enhance data security.
4. Implement Technical Security Controls: Implement security controls based on your risk assessment results and the cybersecurity regulations you are complying with. These controls can include the encryption of data and the installation of anti-spyware software.
5. Develop, Document, and Communicate a Compliance Policy: Once you have implemented security controls, an internal compliance policy should be formulated to help reduce cybersecurity risks. This policy should also be communicated throughout your organization.
6. Monitor Compliance Regulations to Ensure You Remain Compliant: Since the compliance landscape is continually changing, it’s crucial to review your systems and conduct tests frequently to ensure that you remain compliant.

Looking for a Reliable IT Partner to Help You Stay Compliant to the Set Standards?

Discovery Information Technologies has years of experience in helping businesses in Beaumont, Nederland, Port Arthur & East Texas become compliant.

Consult with us today to get familiar with compliance regulations that apply to you and ultimately become and remain compliant.