Are Data Security Compliance Programs Necessary?
Is There a Need for Data Security Compliance Programs for Enterprise level businesses, if so how do you get one?
If you ask anyone this question, the simple answer would be YES!
But the next question that arises in your mind is WHY?
Organizations of all sizes and industries are under constant threat of having their IT systems breached. The question for most organizations isn’t if they are going to be breached, but how they can isolate and mitigate the threat.
Executive management and the Board of Directors may be held personally liable for data breaches if they are not prepared for a Cyber-Attack. Directors are required to exercise reasonable skill and care in performing their duties. To put that in Cyber Related terms, that means assessing data risk, ensuring IT security is adequate, training staff and having plans in place to deal with a data breach.
Information security compliance Programs ensures that a company’s data and information is secured and private. With the increase in Cyber threats like phishing and hacking every single click and employee is a potential threat to the company’s cyber security and privacy. The goal of data security compliance regulations is to provide the company integrity, trust, secrecy and security. They provide a set of Rules and regulations to be followed by an organization to keep their data protected and encryption of sensitive information.
Why is Information security compliance program necessary?
1. Security compliance helps you to avoid Fines and Penalties:
According to the compliance regulations, there are different fines for different industries. Lawmakers are increasingly imposing legislation that protects the security and privacy of personal data collected by private companies and organizations. Violating these laws can result in payment of severe penalties which can be avoided by the use of Information Security Compliance Program.
2. Enhances the data management capabilities of your organization:
With the help of Data mapping exercises you can locate your data within few seconds. Data mapping exercises help to answer these questions and reveal gaps in controls. This is an important exercise, as data privacy laws are changing rapidly and will carry significant fines if your organization is not compliant.
3. Promotion of operational benefits by yielding insights:
Security management solutions can also be deployed on the IT organization’s internal network. These tools may detect people, processes, or applications on the network that are inadequately managed or poorly configured to drive results.
4. Supports access and accessibility controls:
Every person linked in the chain of your company data is a potential risk to your company’s data protection. Data compliance provides employees with eligible credentials the access to the company data. Leaving your data in hands of unruly and careless employees is a big risk and the organization may end up in serious trouble.
5. Backup assistance and cloud solutions:
Data security compliance program are best known for their disaster recovery and backup solutions. They provide Network backup, database back up, email data security and many other local security solutions which help you retrieve any data that is ever lost due to a mishap. Data compliance is the best form of damage control.
6. Third party (vendor) reviews:
Migrating to a cloud provider does not absolve an organization of its Cyber Security responsibilities. It creates what is called a shared responsibility between your organization and the cloud provider. It’s not just cloud providers that present potential risk to your organization. It is also IT service providers, outsourced software developers, consultants or other professionals that provide critical services to your business.
How do you get a Data security compliance program?
When looking for a suitable data compliance program there are some very critical points you need to emphasize on.
1. Is the program trustworthy?
A good compliance regulation program provides you with all the above mentioned features. It has to have a reputation.
2. Check for the features.
Are the data security laws and regulations being assesses and does the program help you with auditing and attestation? If the program does not present a good incident response plan then it is not a right choice. The incident response plan is the set of actions that an organization has to follow when the company is facing data security tampering. It is a foreseen set of rules.
3. The most important part – TEST the plan.
There are many ways to test the plan to have confidence that the plan is current and viable. Make sure to embed the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan process into the organizations change management process to keep the plan up to date as things change in the organization.
4. Documentation and review
Documentation and review of your security policy is as important as any other component of it. Your data-protection compliance program should be properly documented. Once the obligations and risks are understood, it is important to document them. It is not sufficient if you know you are data privacy compliant. Your data-protection compliance program is supposed to be clearly verifiable and readily accessible through accurate reports and documentation for internal or external examinations.
5. Data is one of the most important assets a business has.
For that reason alone, data protection compliance program should be a top priority for any business.
