Regulatory compliance is a set of laws and regulations enforced by the government. All businesses must follow these rules for their respective industry or risk legal punishment and federal fines. Examples of regulatory compliance laws include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DDS).
Regulatory compliance, as it relates to IT, applies to two separate facets of business operations: internal requirements for IT departments set by the company and standards set by outside entities. These two facets directly affect an organization’s IT department and can lead to additional costs, as well as potentially limit business operations.
Information security and the potential for data leaks are key issues in regulatory compliance. It is necessary for companies to understand and adhere to all regulatory compliance regulations for their particular industry. After policies are put into effect, processes must be created to ensure that employees follow these policies to the letter. Failing to adhere to these policies can lead to data breaches that can compromise a company’s ability to operate, as well as result in larger fines than if policies were not properly followed.
Completing a business audit will identify the areas of weakness within an IT department and help ensure compliance. With regard to IT departments and data storage, there are numerous policies and regulations that many companies may choose to invoke, creating another adherence challenge. For instance, new IT employees who are not aware of specific policies can potentially delete data and information a company is required to maintain for a set time-frame, inadvertently creating a compliance issue.
Businesses that use an outside IT services specialist to objectively identify compliance needs and implement policies have a greater ability to withstand a potential investigation.
Learn more about how Protelligent’s Premonition™ Security will level the playing field for your business with security and regulatory compliance management and solutions, or call us at (855) PRO-TELL.
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