What image does the term “cybersecurity” conjure for you?
Hackers typing lines of code into a computer terminal? A link in an email that doesn’t look quite right? An enterprise network going dark after a DDoS attack?
All these threats are real and serious. And you’re right to be nervous about the potential for bad actors to cause damage.
But there’s another threat lurking inside your business. One that is often invisible until it’s exposed, at which point the damage it causes can be hard to bounce back from.
We’re referring to cybersecurity compliance risks.
As regulations evolve, privacy becomes more important, and business gets more complex, the challenge of meeting strict cybersecurity regulations is ever greater.
Thankfully, cybersecurity compliance is something that’s almost entirely within your control. In this guide to cybersecurity compliance, we’ll outline the business risks of cybersecurity non-compliance, the regulations you need to know, and strategies for safeguarding data.
That’s a look to cover – so let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
What is cybersecurity compliance?
Cybersecurity compliance is the process of adhering to regulations, standards, and best practices designed to protect digital assets, sensitive data, and systems.
Information security is no longer just about fending off attacks. It’s also about proving you’re playing by the rules when it comes to handling data.
Compliance typically requires organizations to:
- Identify and assess risks: Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and risk analyses
- Implement specific security controls: Use encryption, access controls, and other security technologies
- Document processes and procedures: Maintain records of security measures and compliance activities
- Train employees: Educate employees and managers on cybersecurity best practices and compliance requirements.
- Conduct regular audits: Assess compliance against relevant standards and regulations
How is it different from “normal” cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity and cybersecurity compliance share a common goal: protecting data and systems. But the approaches differ.
Cybersecurity is about implementing proactive measures like firewalls, encryption, and threat detection to shield your network from cyberattacks. It’s the broad practice of securing your digital assets against external threats.
Cybersecurity compliance, on the other hand, is about following established standards and legal obligations. These rules dictate how you must secure your systems, what policies you need to implement, and which procedures you must follow to protect sensitive data. It’s the internal framework your organization follows to meet specific regulatory requirements set by governing bodies.
The distinction is crucial.
A company can have strong cybersecurity practices but still fall short of compliance if they fail to meet the regulatory requirements. Conversely, being compliant ensures you’re adhering to best practices recognized by the industry, but it doesn’t guarantee full protection from cyber threats.
Cybersecurity compliance frameworks and regulations you need to know
Cybersecurity compliance is governed by a complex landscape of frameworks and regulations.
Navigating your business’s requirements can be tricky, as not all frameworks apply to every business. (Don’t worry; we’ve got strategies to help.)
Some are industry-specific. Others apply to every business handling certain types of data.
What they all have in common is that they exist to protect data and hold businesses accountable for safeguarding sensitive information.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
Probably the best-known of the bunch, this European Union regulation is all about data privacy. GDPR outlines the rules around obtaining consent to collect personal data and mandates strict controls over how that data is stored and shared. If your business handles data from EU citizens – whether you’re based in the EU or not – GDPR compliance should be one of your top tech priorities in the year ahead.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
If you’re in the healthcare industry in the United States, HIPAA is your go-to data privacy regulation. It sets rules for protecting sensitive patient data, ensuring that healthcare providers, insurers, and their business partners maintain the confidentiality of personal health information (PHI). HIPAA compliance can apply to non-healthcare businesses and processes in some rare cases, so it’s worth investigating whether your systems are HIPAA compliant.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)
CCPA is California’s answer to GDPR. It gives California residents the right to know what personal data is being collected, opt out of data sales, and request data deletion. If your business serves California customers and handles large amounts of personal data*, CCPA compliance is non-negotiable.
*CCPA applies to companies turning over $25 million or handling 100,000+ California residents’ PHI or earning 50% of their revenue from selling California residents’ PHI.
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
PCI DSS is designed to protect payment card information. It applies to any organization that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data, and entities that could impact the security of that data. PCI DSS is not just a concern for card payment merchants. It also applies to data processors, acquirers, issuers and service providers.
ISO/IEC 27001
Often seen as the global standard for information security management, ISO 27001 offers guidance on developing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an overarching system. If that sounds wide-ranging and a bit amorphous, it’s because it is. ISO 27001 is intentionally flexible and high-level, providing a framework that enables businesses to identify and adapt to emerging cybersecurity threats.
SOC 2
Where ISO/IEC 27001 is high-level and adaptable by design, SOC 2 (Service Organization Control) is specific and detailed. SOC 2 compliance, developed by the American Institute of CPAs, is a voluntary certification that assesses an organization’s information security management controls. It’s not a regulation, although many enterprise businesses in the US require their clients, tech vendors and partners to demonstrate SOC 2 compliance.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework
Developed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this framework is widely adopted across industries. It’s not a law like CCPA or GDPR. Instead, it provides a set of best practices for managing cybersecurity risks. Companies that follow NIST guidelines are often better positioned to meet other regulatory requirements.
The risks of non-compliance
Failing to meet cybersecurity compliance requirements can have serious consequences. We’re not talking about a slap on the wrist, either. Many of the repercussions could be crippling to a company that commits serious violations.
- Financial penalties: Regulatory bodies don’t take non-compliance lightly. For example, GDPR fines can reach up to 4% of a company’s global annual turnover or €20 million, while HIPAA infractions can cost tens of thousands per violation.
- Data breaches: Non-compliance often means a lack of proper security controls, making your organization a target for cybercriminals. Data breaches expose sensitive information and result in costly cleanups, lost business, and customer trust issues – not to mention the additional penalties if you’re found to be non-compliant.
- Legal liabilities: In some cases, businesses may be held liable for damages caused by their failure to protect sensitive data. These legal battles can be long and expensive, with regulators eager to make an example of non-compliant companies.
- Reputational damage: A data breach or non-compliance penalty is a magnet for negative press and social media backlash. Rebuilding trust after a compliance failure is difficult and may result in long-term revenue losses.
- Operational disruptions: Compliance failures can lead to forced shutdowns or restrictions on operations, especially in industries like healthcare and finance. For example, a company that doesn’t comply with PCI DSS standards may lose the ability to process credit card transactions, crippling its ability to do business.
Do you have a spare $5M?
According to IBM, the global average cost of a data breach in 2024 was $4.88M (€4.47M). Not many companies have that much in spare change – it’s a wake-up call to take cybersecurity compliance seriously.
5 steps to achieve cybersecurity compliance
Getting your business compliant with this complex web of regulations and standards might seem like a tall order. However, breaking it down into manageable steps makes the process more straightforward.
When you do this, you’ll realize that the steps to create a compliant internal framework are more or less universal, despite the variety of cybersecurity compliance frameworks. The types of data and how they’re handled will differ from one company to the next, but it all comes back to protecting sensitive information.
1. Conduct a risk assessment
You need to know your vulnerabilities before you can build policies and controls. A thorough risk assessment identifies your company’s most sensitive data, highlights potential threats, and evaluates the impact of a potential breach.
This step is about understanding the risks specific to your industry and business model. It forms the foundation of your cybersecurity compliance strategy, so it’s worth investing time to get it right.
Pro tip: Use a combination of vulnerability scanning tools, expert advice, and third-party security audits to get an outside perspective on your system’s weaknesses.
2. Develop cybersecurity policies
Clear, well-documented cybersecurity policies outline how your organization handles data protection, access controls, incident response and more. Your cybersecurity policies should do three things in equal measure:
- Specifically address the risks you identified in Step 1
- Build a framework for handling as-yet-unknown risks
- Align with the specific regulations relevant to your business (e.g. GDPR and HIPAA), ensuring you’re meeting both security and compliance needs.
What to include: There are many types of cybersecurity policies, each with unique requirements. For example, GDPR compliance requires specific detail on data subject rights and how you process personal data, while ISO/IEC 27001 is a ‘policy of policies’. A cybersecurity compliance specialist can help you understand exactly what’s required.
3. Employee training
Most data breaches occur because of human error. Employee and manager training is a critical component of cybersecurity compliance. Even the best system can fail if your team isn’t on board.
Regular, mandatory training sessions should cover:
- Basic cybersecurity practices (recognizing phishing scams, managing passwords, and adhering to company data policies)
- Policy-specific controls (data handling processes, how to manage and report data breaches, communicating with customers and clients)
- Cybersecurity compliance updates (recent incidents or near-misses, regulatory changes, new and amended policies, new controls)
Keep it relevant: Tailoring training to specific roles and responsibilities will increase the chances of it sinking in. Read our compliance training guide for more tips on managing a successful training program.
4. Security controls
Now it’s time to put the technical safeguards in place. Security controls are the tools and systems you’ll use to protect your data from unauthorized access and breaches.
These can include firewalls, encryption methods, multi-factor authentication, software updates, cloud storage, endpoint protection and intrusion detection systems, among many other measures. Your controls should not only meet regulatory standards but also evolve as new threats emerge.
Partners and vendors: Ensure third-party companies that process sensitive information as part of doing business with you are aligned with your compliance requirements. For example, Time Doctor is fully compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2 and ISO 27001, giving our global and diverse users the confidence that their data is protected.
5. Regular audits and real-time monitoring
Cybersecurity compliance is not a one-time task. Regulations evolve. New threats arise all the time.
Any policies you develop should become living documents subject to regular scrutiny.
Regular compliance audits and continuous monitoring ensure that your organization and policies remain strong. As well as scheduling internal audits, consider whether unbiased third-party audits can help you identify cybersecurity blind spots.
Automate monitoring: Cybersecurity monitoring tools can detect suspicious activity and alert your team in real time. Coupled with compliance management software that tracks and reports on regulatory adherence, these tools provide a clear and accurate record of compliance and continuous improvement.
Implementing cybersecurity compliance measures can be complex and resource-intensive. Depending on the vulnerabilities you identify and the capability of existing systems to meet regulatory requirements, achieving cybersecurity compliance could require one or more digital transformation projects.
Fortunately, a variety of tools, technologies, and services are available to help.
Compliance management software
These platforms are designed to help you track, manage, and report on your organization’s compliance status in real time. Look for a platform with built-in features for auditing, documentation, and risk management to help you stay on top of regulatory changes and meet deadlines.
Security information and event management (SIEM) systems
SIEM systems aggregate and analyze security data from across your network to detect potential threats and anomalies. They provide real-time monitoring and alerts so you can respond quickly.
More importantly, SIEM tools help maintain continuous compliance by logging all security-related activities – a critical asset for passing audits.
Encryption tools
Many compliance frameworks (like GDPR and HIPAA) require businesses to encrypt sensitive data. Encryption tools protect data both at rest and in transit. Even if sensitive data is intercepted, it remains unreadable without the intended recipient’s encryption key.
Endpoint security solutions
Endpoint security tools protect devices like laptops, smartphones, and servers from malware and other cyber threats.
Many compliance frameworks require businesses to secure every endpoint that connects to their network. These tools often come with features like encryption, firewalls, and real-time monitoring to meet compliance standards.
Identity and access management (IAM) systems
IAM tools control who has access to sensitive data within your organization. These systems provide features like multi-factor authentication (MFA), role-based access controls, and single sign-on (SSO).
IAM systems are typically a must-have to satisfy cybersecurity compliance requirements related to data access and control.
Penetration testing and vulnerability scanning services
Regular penetration testing helps you uncover vulnerabilities in your system before attackers find them. Vulnerability scanning tools do a similar job, continuously checking for and flagging any weaknesses.
Compliance frameworks like PCI DSS often require these services.
Should you engage a cybersecurity compliance expert?
If managing compliance internally feels overwhelming (and we don’t blame you if that’s the case), hiring a third-party consulting service can help.
Compliance experts in the legal field can help you navigate complex regulations, audit readiness, and ongoing compliance management.
IT-focused cybersecurity specialists will bolster your controls to ensure you’re demonstrating compliance, not just developing nice-to-have policies.
You might also consider building internal capacity by hiring compliance specialists with both policy and technical backgrounds.
Who you hire and how they help depends on your unique challenges. The important takeaway is that experts are almost always worth their fees, especially if cybersecurity compliance is mission-critical.
Cybersecurity compliance will only get more important
Cybersecurity compliance is no longer optional. It’s essential for running a successful, trusted business.
That’s a challenge and an advantage. As it becomes more important for your customers and your company, there is more pressure for third-party partners to up their support.
So, while establishing controls, policies, training and audit processes can seem daunting, remember that you’re in good company.
Hold software vendors and service providers accountable. Seek their support to strengthen compliance. Ask for documentation and a track record of improvements if it’ll help you prove your own organization’s compliance.
The bottom line is that while your organization must take steps to shore up cybersecurity compliance, part of that process involves working with partners you can trust.
Cybersecurity and compliance at Time Doctor
We take compliance seriously at Time Doctor.
Our workforce analytics tools are fully compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2 standards. We also follow best-practice cybersecurity processes, including regular penetration testing and data privacy control audits.
To learn more about security and compliance, view our support documentation.
Liam Martin is a serial entrepreneur, co-founder of Time Doctor, Staff.com, and the Running Remote Conference, and author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, “Running Remote.” He advocates for remote work and helps businesses optimize their remote teams.
