On a scale of 1-10, how compliant is your organization on data and cyber security standards within your industry?
Can you answer that confidently?
How do you know?
When was the last time you checked?
Most importantly, would you be willing to stake your reputation or even your business on it?
What is Compliance?
Compliance is really just a set of rules or standards to work within or conform to.
In the business setting, we’re not talking about restrictions but rather a set of precautions or protocols designed to protect employees or consumers. In the case of our conversation today, we’re talking about the data and cyber security of those employees and consumers, of which, different industries will have different standards.
Depending on your industry, staying in compliance can be an extremely arduous task. With rules and regulations changing from state to state or country to country, meeting those requirements takes a lot of effort. What’s more, staying in compliance can prove to be just as difficult a task.
The Cost of Non-Compliance
Falling out of compliance can be very costly with companies potentially seeing regulatory fines or opening themselves up to legal liabilities from other organizations or consumers. Additionally, if you are not in compliance, you may be rejected for insurance coverage (if you don’t have it yet), or could have issues with your claims if you do need to file with your cyber insurance provider.
Simply put, the more compliant you are, the less risk you pose as an organization, the more likely you are to have a selection of options and more favorable coverage.
Getting Into & Maintaining Compliance
As noted above, compliance can be a tricky thing that requires constant attention to industry requirements and notes stipulated in your insurance policy. Who in your organization is responsible for it and how often do you run compliance audits?
Often this is a multi-faceted approach and your network administrator or IT Director might not have all the answers. They are extremely skilled in their role and managing or securing the network, but many likely aren’t policy experts or work on ensuring compliance with the most current requirements.
You need someone focused on your organization’s compliance with industry and insurance requirements.
Enter the vCISO Professional.
At Diamond IT, our vCISO professionals connect with you and your team to develop a strategic approach to your security with items such as: risk mitigation, incident response plans, and security training for employees.
The actions by a skilled vCISO show insurance carriers that your organization takes cyber security seriously and will make a concerted, ongoing effort to maintain industry and policy compliance, adapting to future threats, vulnerabilities, and changes as they come.
Want To Learn More?
If you are seeking out cyber insurance or coming up on a renewal and some of the forms leave you or your team scratching your head, set up a compliance assessment with our team.