How to Manage and Meet Strict IT Compliance Guidelines

Information technology compliance guidelines and requirements are constantly changing to meet the needs of the current infrastructure, technology, innovations, and internet protocols. With the number of cyberthreats exponentially multiplying, IT requirements are developing to protect your clients and employees’ data while allowing you to maintain your business operations safely. With today’s companies holding more information than ever, this comes with an endless number of responsibilities regarding how it is stored, protected, shared, and used. To ensure your company meets these strict and ever-changing IT compliance guidelines, you must learn more about managing these requirements, as outlined below.

What is IT compliance management?

To best understand compliance on a personal level, consider receiving an annual privacy bank notice, being locked out of an account for incorrectly using a password, or signing a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act form at your doctor’s office. In IT, the idea is the same, meaning compliance comprises the activities providing and maintaining systematic proof of adherence to external laws and internal policies, regulations, and guidelines.

There are two parts of the process: compliance management and system integrity to adhere to and prove compliance. With each passing day, the role of IT compliance evolves as the storage and sharing of important data impacts all departments within an organization since they depend on IT services to collect, report, and disseminate information.

IT compliance management is the continuous tracking of external laws, regulations, guidelines, and internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance. While this may seem like a major hassle, the purpose of these initiatives is to protect your company and your clients’ sensitive data from those with malicious intent.

Who is ISACA?

Since the regulatory environment continues to expand to catch up with the rapid advances in technology and data usage, the institutions setting the rules and regulations are growing with it. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association is a nonprofit, member-driven organization that can help keep your company updated in managing strict IT compliance guidelines through journals, news, tools, training, and education. Most importantly, ISACA nurtures the dialogue on risk management, compliance, cybersecurity, and audits while promoting IT compliance certifications. These ISACA certifications can aid professionals in comprehending the winding roads of compliance and implementing the proper actions.

How to understand compliance standards

The world of IT compliance is a confusing and rigorous undertaking, albeit incredibly important. Numerous regulatory statutes enacted by Congress as a response to economic or social issues are handed to specific government agencies to create and enforce the statutes’ regulations. These mandates have specific protection and regulation of information to prevent fraud, safeguard privacy, protect identities, and provide overall security. This is accomplished by creating mandates, accountability, and standards that all firms must follow.

In addition to federal policies, companies must comply with international, local, state, and regional standards. Therefore, it becomes incredibly confusing to determine which legal standards are required. Many companies look to outside IT consulting services to navigate the rocky and dangerous waters of compliance. Some of the most well-known compliance requirements include:

  • Basel III.
  • Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
  • HIPAA.
  • Federal Information Security Management Act.
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The understanding, meeting, and managing the strict IT guidelines at the international, federal, regional, and state levels is no easy task. Without a dedicated in-house team to ensure your company is following these guidelines, it can be a monumental undertaking for your employees. However, by working with an IT consulting team specializing in understanding the law and implementing certain measures ahead of updates and new regulations, you can ensure your business will be secure and compliant.