Compliance can overwhelm the best of us — a full slate of regulations and required audits can be hard to handle without a trustworthy partner. To combat this, organizations across sectors are setting their sights on viewing compliance as more than a series of boxes to check. This is a Culture of Compliance: a continuous exercise in information technology vigilance, innovation, and investment to build compliance practices into your organization’s everyday.
In an increasingly digitized workworld, IT compliance makes up a vital piece of the puzzle. These policies are more about changing things at the corporate level; IT compliance practices integrate cyber-awareness and risk management into every level of your organization.
Let’s take a look at how to develop a culture of compliance, from ground-floor employees to the C-suite — your IT security team and your examiner will thank you!
Get Real
Does your organization have specific IT and risk management policies? Probably… but do your employees know them by heart? Guidelines and best practices can get lost in the mire of your employee handbook, leaving your organization vulnerable to some crafty social engineering or a data hostage situation with ransomware to blame.
To ensure your organization stays up-to-date on the latest threats and how to mitigate risk from their own workstations, go beyond online training into real-world drills, such as Red Team Assessments, Tabletop Exercises, and Ransomware Simulations. Realistic tests of employee awareness, system defenses, and cross-departmental incident response will help all levels of your team incorporate readiness into daily work life.
Open Up
Let’s face it: It’s embarrassing to fall for a scam. We’ve all done it, and the resulting shame can be enough to convince someone not to share that seedy email they clicked on. But these moments can be the most critical when it comes to stopping an attacker before they do more harm.
To encourage employee self-reporting, prioritize an atmosphere of communication and non-judgment when it comes to your cybersecurity and compliance. Develop wide open, easy-to-use channels between your IT security team and the rest of your organization, with clear-cut policies for incident reporting and mitigation. If your IT experts feel accessible and accepting, everyone will be more comfortable coming to them in suspicious or concerning situations— letting you nip it in the bud.
Track and Translate
A culture of compliance is a balance, from the human element to the fine print. Regulations are ever-shifting to keep up with the evolving threat landscape, and it’s important to have someone in your C-suite with their finger on the pulse.
While an effective CIO tends to take the lead in making a technical strategy for your organization’s defense, you may also consider hiring a BISO, whose role in the organization is all about translation. A CIO identifies the musts of your organization’s compliance, while a BISO can explain it in layman’s terms, turning requirements into a cohesive, actionable culture in which everyone actively supports compliance.
Recognize & Reward
Everyone loves a reward. But this isn’t just about the proven effectiveness of gamifying cybersecurity — though your employees are almost guaranteed to engage when you introduce the spirit of competition. It also has to do with how you make IT compliance into a part of your organizational culture.
Identifying risks, endpoints, and vital assets are all key aspects of ongoing vulnerability management. So, too, is what you decide to do about it. Incentivize your team to take a proactive role in their own safety by being responsive and sharing the impact of their actions. Celebrate employees for such demonstrations. The positive reinforcement will be a powerful motivator when it comes to your employees being assertive and communicative about their security, and the organization’s compliance will benefit.
Elevate Easily
You can elevate your organization’s compliance by implementing best practices, cutting down on time and costliness of finding out after the fact that your team could’ve been doing more.
BAI Security’s Compliance Best Practice Evaluations are fast ways to get a handle on your Asset Management, Project Management, and Vendor Management. Each is available as a standalone service or incorporated into our comprehensive IT General Controls Audit or HIPAA Security Risk Assessment.
To get started on building your culture of compliance, contact us today.
