Installing stringent security measures to protect your data doesn’t just benefit your business financially, it also mitigates legal risks and ensures data compliance. Although data regulations vary from industry to industry, all companies that collect, process, store, and manage sensitive data must ensure that it is protected from cyberattackers.
Judging by the different strategies hackers will use this year, complying with data protection regulations will be tougher than ever. This brings us to this week’s cybersecurity forecast, where we discuss the future of data compliance.
Changing regulations
With the increasing variety of cyberattacks, new policies are constantly added to data security initiatives. Multi-factor authentication, transport layer security encryption, and “designated entities supplemental validation” are now required by companies that fall under the new, 3.2 version of the Payment Card Industry Security Standard (PCI-DSS).
Not only that, but other businesses that adhere to HIPAA, SOX, ISO, or other industry-specific regulations must keep a close eye on the changes that will likely occur this year.
EU security initiatives
The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will be enforced in 2018, is the EU’s response to growing data privacy concerns. Though it may seem like this policy affects EU countries the most, companies that capture and maintain personal data of EU citizens will have to abide by the new regulations.
Given the growth of the cloud and online services, the new laws will affect businesses around the world. We predict that both new and revised security initiatives will dramatically increase administrative costs.
The GDPR, for example, requires companies to appoint data protection officers as well as retrain and inform employees about new policies and how to exercise them. Meanwhile, regulatory changes will mean US businesses will have to thoroughly audit and restructure their security protocols. These rules will be especially difficult for companies that not only have to comply with local regulations but also separately manage EU data. In both cases, enterprises will have to meet with managed services providers (MSP) and review standard level agreements as well as data protection services.
How to keep up
With so many minute details to keep track of, it’s important to have a good relationship with your cybersecurity provider so they can keep you in the loop about the latest security developments. And although data security compliance may seem intimidating, always remember the basics: antivirus software, intrusion prevention systems, firewalls, encryption systems, physical security, and periodic security awareness training.
If you’re looking for security measures to keep you compliant with data regulations, lntelligIS is a leading managed IT services company in Atlanta that can help you protect your business. Visit us at www.intelligis.com.
And if you’ve kept up with our 2017 cybersecurity series, don’t forget to read our final installment next week!
