The ABCs of IT Compliance

From A to Z, a great business leader knows their industry and the standards that it is held to. But with everchanging IT solutions to tackle threats and take advantage of opportunities, staying up to date with the latest compliance regulations will spell out success.

Here are four compliance standards you need to know: 

GDPR

The EU (European Union) is leading the world in protecting the information of its citizens with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

Unlike current laws in the US, all businesses that gather, store and transmit the data of EU citizens must abide by GDPR compliance. Therefore, in order to continue or begin business dealings in EU countries, businesses around the world must comply with these regulatory standards.

Under the regulation, businesses must allow individuals to opt-in for data collection with the choice to opt-out – properly erasing all the information previously collected – at any time.

PCI DSS 

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) protects the storage and transmission of credit, debit and cash card information by businesses. Compliance with PCI creates a foundation of mutual benefits for both you and your customers. 

You can provide your customers with active data protection plus seek out potential threats before they arise. This is done by building and maintaining secure networks and systems, starting a vulnerability protection program and regularly monitoring and testing your network for vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, implementing access control, limiting the parties that can access data in the first place and maintaining an open and honest mission statement regarding your information security policy are great methods of protecting valued customers. 

SOX

Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance focuses on protecting the investor. If you’re an officer of a publicly traded company or about to offer an IPO (initial public offering), this applies to you. SOX mandates that companies are transparent with their financial information for shareholders.

The audits that go along with SOX improve earning reporting and increase the reliability of corporate disclosure. Your company realizes more benefits via the streamlining of business practices that SOX fosters.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) outlines the protections of medical records at all levels of storage and transmission by a business associate (BA). This means that any information collected from patients must be properly managed, transferred and accessed.

The PSNs – privacy, security and notification– of HIPAA can help you remember important compliance measures. Privacy ensures that no personal medical records can be disclosed without patient consent. Security focuses on ePHI (electronic protected health information). Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards are put in place to ensure compliance standards are met. Notification means that if at any time the confidential data is breached, all involved parties will be informed in a timely manner.

How We Can Help

By partnering with a reliable managed services provider, we’ll guarantee you meet – and exceed – all compliance standards. By implementing compliance management solutions we’ll actively safeguard your clients’ confidential data. Making compliance as easy as, well, you know.

Contact us today to begin your journey toward ensured compliance and see how we can help you spell out success.