Compliance and Cybersecurity: Are They Equal?

Can you check every compliance box but overlook cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities? Absolutely. The key is to integrate and streamline security and compliance efforts. Read on for some pointers.

Simply put, no. It’s possible to check every compliance box and overlook security holes, and to have a rigorous cybersecurity program that fails to meet compliance needs. But, though one does not guarantee the other, security and compliance are interconnected. Organizations that use a comprehensive approach to manage both obligations can benefit from streamlined efforts while staying ahead of regulatory changes and new threats.

Lead By Example

Like security, compliance needs top-down leadership. If the C-suite downplays the importance of compliance and security, everyone else in the organization will treat them as hurdles to overcome instead of best practices that advance business objectives. The key is leadership understanding how IT compliance can enhance business operations, and communicating that to the rest of the company. Embracing compliance and security at the top encourages a team effort in reporting problems when and if they happen.

Communication Leads to Compliance

Clear communication channels ensure compliance standards are accessible, known, and embedded in policies, procedures, and processes. It’s easy to fall into the habit of viewing regulations as barriers, but it’s more effective to treat them as a baseline for protecting companies and consumers from practices that create more risk than reward. Use compliance objectives to provide a common language for how the organization thinks and talks about security concerns.

A Unified Approach

Employ a unified approach to risk, compliance, and cybersecurity management and take advantage of economies of scale. Cohesive oversight of all three elements creates a natural system of checks and balances where the C-suite understands and reviews internal and external changes to assess their impact on the whole system. Companies with a unified system understand the importance of agility in assessing changes to security and compliance simultaneously.

There are no tools that eliminate the need for regulatory compliance or information security programs, but companies that integrate security and compliance make the most of their investments in both. For a free consultation on how to integrate your cybersecurity and compliance programs, contact Securance today.