From Fortune 500 companies to local shops, chances are you are following regulatory compliance. Depending on the industry, you might follow multiple compliance standards, such as PCI DSS-DSS, GDPR, and other federal regulations. Often these standards and regulations have overlapping requirements and can be tedious to track, update, and maintain. However, compliance standards are a tool for your business to streamline your processes, procedures, and security functions to optimize your cybersecurity posture.
According to Salesforce, 84% of users are more loyal to companies with strong security controls. However, before companies can alleviate the pain of compliance pain and turn the process into the ultimate security business tool, there are several steps to follow.
Step 1: Identify All Regulatory And Legislative Requirements
Whether it is HIPAA or CMMC, FTC or FFIEC, there are resources to assist your business’s specific needs. However, corporate compliance must be integrated into all business operations to achieve an optimal security posture. Identifying all the regulatory requirements is essential to understanding your full legal responsibilities and properly securing your intellectual property. The secret of compliance is protecting your customers.
Once the identification is complete, find the right compliance framework, such as NIST CSF, COBIT 5, or HITRUST, to crosswalk overlapping requirements into a standard the company can execute effectively. Remember, compliance is a tool to help standardize processes and procedures and ensure all data—even downstream customer data—is protected.
The end game for Step 1 is to apply a framework to identify and integrate overlapping regulatory requirements into a standardized, repeatable format.
Step 2: Conduct A GAP Analysis And Research Solutions
After establishing the framework, it is time to find your weaknesses and develop a path to remediate those issues. Most companies know the majority of their weaknesses, but the reality is—they are missing essential areas. To get a full picture of the business’s security posture and expose those elusive weaknesses, most organizations need the assistance of a qualified third-party cybersecurity firm to conduct a GAP Analysis.
It’s important to note that third-party assistance does not have to be a compliance auditor. Instead, it can be someone who can help you assess your business from all aspects without any institutional bias. In addition, these non-biased organizations can review the technical and non-technical requirements and assist in creating a path forward for maximum security.
Once the technical and non-technical requirements have been reviewed and a path established, the gaps can be evaluated and prioritized. After the plan of action is created to address the gaps, an appropriate compliance solution can be selected. However, any compliance solution chosen must be adaptable, repeatable, and measurable to achieve the maxim benefit.
The end game for Step 2 is to get the technical and non-technical solutions identified and into a presentable format for all stakeholders to make informed decisions.
Step 3: Implement And Maintain Selected Solutions
The final step to turning the compliance process into an ultimate tool is taking the framework and solutions chosen and integrating them into the business. If Steps 1 and 2 are performed correctly, Step 3 will automatically become a continuous, quick, and pain-free process. It’s a pain-free process because the proper framework and solutions implemented have identified the following:
- Data Owners
- Stakeholders
- Change Management Board Members
- Committees
- Processes
- Procedures
With the correct guidance, the compliance process becomes an automated procedure delivering decision-making information to all stakeholders.
The end game for Step 3:, the business has the process and technology to remain compliant.
Conclusion
According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of Americans are concerned about how companies use their data. Therefore, regulatory compliance is critical for all businesses, from Fortune 500 companies to local shops. While complying with multiple standards and regulations can be tedious, it allows one to streamline processes, procedures, and security functions for a better security posture. Three key steps must be followed to turn the compliance process into a business tool: identifying all regulatory requirements, conducting a gap analysis, and implementing and maintaining selected solutions.
By doing so, companies can meet their legal responsibilities and secure their intellectual property and data, leading to increased customer loyalty. The goal is to have a standard, repeatable, and automated process that ensures ongoing compliance and maximum security for the business.
By Zachary Folk, Director of Solutions Engineering at Camelot Secure
Zachary Folk brings over a decade of Cyber/IT Operations and GRC experience to the Camelot Secure team. His roots come from the system and network administration arena. He has taken that knowledge and is now helping companies to integrate technical solutions to streamline and automate compliance standards and enhance their security postures. Zach has successfully prepared for and executed many compliance assessments. He has been retained by various companies as a third-party consultant to help prepare them for compliance assessments and choose the proper technology solutions. He holds top-level Cyber Security Certifications such as CISSP with a concentration in ISSEP, CAP/CGRC, C|EH, and Security+. Additionally, he has a BS in Communications from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is working toward his master’s in cyber security. In addition to cybersecurity and compliance, Zach has served in the Alabama National Guard for 13 years and currently serves as a Support Operations Officer and manages logistics for his battalion.