What is IT compliance?
As data and information is increasingly shared thanks to an increased reliance on technology and higher customer expectations, protecting data has become even more important. While not all data breaches are illegal, they can damage public trust in the organisation, which can lead to significant financial losses. IT compliance in this context is about bringing your organisation's data management in line with current regulations and public expectations. This means ensuring that data is obtained legally and no more than is authorised, that it is not stored for longer than legally permitted, that it is stored securely, and that it is not accessible to more people than necessary or permitted.
What are the goals and challenges of IT compliance?
The overall goal of IT compliance is to build a technical, procedural and strategic framework that provides the means to achieve and prove the legal and ethical integrity of an organisation. Adopting policies and procedures can help with the following:
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Damage done to the company's reputation and consumer trust.
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Lost income, market opportunity or share value.
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The avoidance of remediation costs. That is, costs associated with legal processes, fines, lost productivity and more.
However, there are a number of challenges in achieving this goal. Firstly, the complexity and scope of data legislation is open to interpretation. Since the regulations often don't come with any concrete guidance, there are a number of industry-specific guidelines and best practices available to provide clarity.
Other challenges include:
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Insufficient employee training.
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Hidden IT issues such as personal mobile devices bypassing corporate IT systems.
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Unauthorised applications.
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Difficulties with service providers (cloud services and data centres).
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The role of social media.
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The number of current regulations, updates and new laws.
How to avoid IT compliance breaches?
As mentioned, there are numerous challenges associated with IT compliance. One way to overcome them is to educate employees on all aspects of data privacy and equip them with the tools for data protection. You can also provide mobile workers with laptops and devices with insurance policies and prevention mechanisms such as secure access to company data. Put in place authorisation mechanisms to restrict access to downloadable applications so that only approved software can be downloaded. Enforce security encryption and prevent access to devices without secure access. Only use secure and modern cloud storage solutions.
