Compliance and security are similar. They drive organizations to practice due diligence in the protection of digital assets. But the motive behind compliance is different. Its motive is centered on the requirements of third parties. Such parties may include government agencies or a client’s contractual terms.
This is aimed at enabling business operations in a particular market or with a client.
As for security, it’s the practice of executing effective technical controls to protect digital assets. Security is practiced for its own sake. But compliance is practiced to satisfy external requirements. It’s also aimed at facilitating business operations.
You can tell that a compliance-based approach to security falls short of the mark. This attitude focuses on doing the minimum only to satisfy third-party requirements.
This fact strengthens the need for a practical information security program. One that will allow organizations to go beyond checking boxes. Then begin employing robust practices to protect critical assets. That’s where the thought of layered security systems comes in. As well as the user awareness training.
Compliance standards that don’t meet critical functions are a recipe for disaster. They leave the door open for hackers who prey on the low-hanging fruit.
Reasons Why Security is More Than Just Compliance for Startups
Executing a personal security framework involves drafting policies. It also involves documenting evidence around the available security controls.
A startup has to start this earlier if they sell to financial institutions. If that fails to apply, it may be time to invest in a formal compliance program. This should be a significant undertaking.
Note that it can take months to prepare for a SOC 2 engagement. But an audit can even take two to three weeks to draft. If you go for SOC type 2 compliance, the audits will have to evaluate the controls for a period of six months. This serves to extend the time commitment.
Let’s discuss why security is more than just compliance for startups.
- Deploying the Right Tools
Deploying the right tools is one of the tactics that startups can use to boost their security. The good news is that they don’t have to spend so much on this.
A lot of organizations provide open-source, free, or affordable versions of their solutions. They include Cloudflare, Snyk, Autho, and Crowdstrike. A complete security rollout can include software and best practice for:
- Resilience
- Governance
- Infrastructure
- Application development
- Identity and Access Management
Some startups may have the resources to deploy all the pillars of a robust security infrastructure. Also, there are resources like Security4Startups. They provide free open-source frameworks for startups. This enables them to figure out what to do first. It also helps startup founders to identify and solve crucial security challenges.
This is done by providing a list of entry-level solutions. As a reasonable start to building a long-term security program. Additionally, compliance automation tools help with continuous monitoring. This ensures that the controls stay in place.
Compliance helps in initiating trust with partners and clients. But if this trust is broken after a security incident, it becomes difficult to regain it. That’s why being secure, not just compliant helps to take trust to another level. It increases the market momentum and ensures the products are here to stay.
- Segregating Internal Duties and Monitoring Employee Turnover
Handing over the right job to the right person in a startup can be quite a task. That’s because someone may end up with a job that’s not of their liking. This can lead to reduced employee engagement, errors, and, possibly, fraud.
A startup may well have processes to catch such instances. But they sometimes run in willful ignorance of laid down procedures. Checks made as part of compliance can help in recognizing the risks on time. This leads to actions being taken in good time.
Usually, startups heavily rely on employees with specialized knowledge. And without the right documentation for their duties, losing employees can be problematic. Having a compliance officer ensures that documentation processes are monitored. It helps to clarify business operations.
- Managing Internal Processes and Reducing Errors
Startups put a lot of focus on getting their business to the next level. Due to this, they don’t lay a lot of emphasis on monitoring internal processes. Getting a compliance officer will ensure that the processes are checked. This will help to minimize errors or fraud.
Remember that you can easily lose money through fraudulent activities. Such activities can include check tampering and improper payroll transactions. A structured internal audit can help in finding and stemming such leakages.
- Zero Trust Security Principles
This is a security approach that addresses the new perimeter-less business environment. These principles are followed by trusting nothing and being sure to verify everything.
With zero trust, security is software-driven and layered. As for authorization, it’s only granted once an identity, device, and network path are proven safe.
A zero-trust security method has been widely adopted. That’s because traditional methods fall short in the face of developing threats. Multi-factor authentication is an important component of the zero-trust security method.
Several tools can help to reduce the friction MFA creates to empower productivity. Conditional access can relax or heighten security measures. Note that this is on the condition of an attempted login. If someone is confirmed to be logging in with their assigned device on a recognized network, those factors can act as verification.
Push notifications can also be used to minimize friction. That’s by making the second step as easy as tapping a button on a user’s device. Biometrics on a user’s device also makes MFA steps fast and easy without reducing their security.
- Better Data Management
Understanding the sensitive data you have and how to maintain it is very critical. That’s because it’s the first step toward developing a strong compliance system. This process must be conducted in a manner that preserves privacy. It must also be done in a way that boosts efficiency in an organization.
Compliance management software will help to manage policies. It also helps to map compliance and security frameworks around policies. With a compliance system, you can be sure that the reactions to these decisions will be consistent. Increasing consistency reduces errors whether they are intentional or not.
Maintaining an organized record of data is important. It ensures that you have evidence to prove your compliance. Additionally, it enables the organization to make better and more informed decisions. You can effectively do this by redesigning your data management process. You can also audit or upgrade to systems that automate the process.
Conclusion
Information technology has grown rapidly over the recent past. This immense growth has come with complex new compliance and security challenges. Industry insiders understand that you must control how organizations share and store information. IT compliance frameworks have been put in place to ensure a safe regulation of data.