When enterprises are establishing a security footprint, responding to a customer request or reactively deploying appropriate controls to protect data, security and compliance can be overwhelming. Without leadership backing, investment in the correct tools, and an ongoing procedure to regularly monitor their systems, businesses might find themselves on unsteady ground, risking failing an audit, losing customers, or experiencing a data breach.
Protecting firm data has become a primary responsibility as the workplace continues to merge real and virtual worlds. Poor security policies have resulted in phishing scams, data breaches, and the exposure of personal information, to name a few. As a result, it’s not uncommon for businesses to set up compliance programs as a last resort; non-compliant can cost twice as much as compliance owing to fines, business disruption, reputation harm, and other considerations.
“Organizations will continue to look closely at how to minimize any type of data breach. This includes a close examination of how they are exchanging data/files with third parties. For example, we’re seeing a lot of inquiries that relate to organizations taking a closer look at any processes that require someone to manually secure a file before it’s exchanged. This could include having a programmer write a script to transfer a file securely or someone using a PC application to encrypt the file first before sending it. Security personnel are looking for a consistent, reliable and auditable process for securely exchanging files that help prevent data,” says Brian Pick, Managing Director of Managed File Transfer – HelpSystems.
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Here are the top three compliance mistakes that businesses make:
Dearth of leadership buy-in
It’s one thing for the company’s leadership to recognize the importance of compliance in attracting new (and larger) customers. It’s another thing entirely to supply the necessary resources and capital to develop a complete program. Businesses should consider undergoing a SOC 2 audit, which is an important step in establishing a strong security culture. When it comes to SOC 2 compliance, management should provide employees enough time to prepare for and work on the audit. To be successful, these audits take time and increase security spending; pressuring the team to rush the task and cut costs to fulfill customer demands could result in a big oversight that has long-term consequences for the company. The leadership team will need to communicate the relevance of these changes to the rest of the company as new processes and controls to secure data are implemented.
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Using a check-box approach
Treating compliance as a “check the box” exercise and moving on to the next assignment is one of the most prevalent mistakes firms make. Compliance is the foundation of a strong risk management program, but it is only one part of the security puzzle. Even though advanced endpoint detection and response solutions are not required by compliance frameworks, they should be viewed as complementary tools that help to strengthen the overall security posture. As the client base expands, so will the requirement to comply with a variety of regulatory frameworks. To adequately protect company data, an annual audit isn’t enough; security and compliance should be a constant priority that is polished and evolving.
Manually pursuing compliance
Compliance necessitates a thorough knowledge of rules, regulations, industry standards, and frameworks, as well as the ability to demonstrate that knowledge. Providing proof to meet compliance requirements might take hundreds of hours when numerous departments and employees are involved. Companies often seek to achieve compliance manually because they don’t know where to start, diverting time and attention away from key business demands. There are security and compliance solutions that automate evidence collecting, screenshots, spreadsheets, and other manual tasks, as well as provide templates for modeling policies and controls rather than beginning from scratch.
