Category: Compliance

A Comprehensive Guide

As with many other fields in technology, cybersecurity is in a constant state of evolution. One often overlooked area is the field of GRC. Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is a protective structure that aligns IT with an organization’s goals while managing and mitigating risks to the organization.

When GRC is combined with a plan and a good strategy, improvements can usually be observed in decision-making, IT investments, and department fragmentation. Building a comprehensive program will also ensure the organization complies with constantly evolving regulations, reducing the likelihood of cyber threats and regulatory penalties.

Let’s explore how modern Cybersecurity programs are affected by GRC. I’ll also offer practical implementation steps and insights into how your organization can stay protected.

I want to break down what forms the foundation of any robust cybersecurity program: Governance, Risk, and Compliance.

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  • Governance: Governance is a set of policies, procedures, and rules or frameworks an organization uses to achieve its business goals. A security professional’s mission is to implement strategies to secure information and systems while keeping the business goals in mind. Some of the results of good governance include openness in communication, effective dispute management, strategic resource allocation, and, most importantly, integrity and responsibility.
  • Risk Management: An organization can face various risks, including financial, legal, and security risks. Risk management means identifying, assessing, and mitigating them. Some benefits of implementing a sound risk management plan include anticipating internal and external threats and implementing measures to mitigate them before they can cause any harm.
  • Compliance: Ensure that laws, rules, and regulations are followed. An organization must have compliance to avoid penalties or legal consequences.

The Importance of a GRC Program in Strengthening Cybersecurity

Now that we have explored the definitions of Governance, Risk, and Compliance, let’s examine their advantages.

GRC is crucial in cybersecurity, helping organizations reduce risk and prevent data breaches. Different industries have varying compliance needs, often requiring multiple frameworks to meet business demands. GRC ensures proper security controls, audits, and standards for third-party sharing.

To mention some of the benefits precisely, we can say that a well-implemented GRC program can provide the following:

  • Business Continuity: A clear incident response plan supports swift recovery from attacks, minimizing downtime and data loss, while GRC identifies critical assets for prioritized recovery, ensuring resilience.
  • Reduced Cyberattacks: Proactive management, including patching vulnerabilities and training employees, lowers the risk of successful attacks, with regular updates further reducing threats.
  • Enhanced Decision-Making: GRC provides organizations with comprehensive data insights and analytics, enabling informed decision-making on risk management and security strategies ensuring consistency with organizational objectives and compliance standards.
  • More robust Security and Risk Visibility: A structured risk management approach enhances protection and provides greater visibility into potential threats. This enables organizations to identify, assess, and mitigate risks more effectively, ensuring continuous improvement in security measures.

In 2020, cyber experts worldwide read the news about the SolarWinds cyberattack. SolarWinds, a major IT management company, suffered a significant data breach when attackers infiltrated its supply chain, compromising its Orion software.

This breach occurred partly due to a lack of a well-implemented and maintained GRC program that could have helped identify vulnerabilities in their supply chain and third-party relationships.

GRC is not just about meeting regulatory requirements; it’s about taking proactive measures to build a resilient, adaptable privacy and security program.

Steps to Implementing an Effective GRC Program

Implementing a sound GRC program involves several key steps.

Step 1—Establish a GRC Framework: Some of the most popular frameworks are ISO 27001, NIST, and COBIT; it will all depend on your organization’s needs. These frameworks provide structured guidelines for governance, risk management, and compliance.

Step 2—Identify Key Risks: A risk assessment is critical to a valid risk management process. By completing one, you will identify vulnerabilities and threats within your organization. This could involve reviewing your network architecture, assessing your software vulnerabilities, and considering human error risks.

Step 3—Build a Compliance Roadmap: Map out all applicable regulations, such as GDPR, CCPA, FedRAMP, and HIPAA, that your organization must follow. Establish a roadmap highlighting key actions, such as enforcing data security measures, conducting periodic audits, and educating your workforce on compliance protocols.

Step 4—Leverage GRC Tools: Automating risk management and compliance is possible with GRC solutions like Archer, LogicGate, LogicManger, and MetricStream. They enable you to centralize data, monitor compliance efforts, and streamline risk assessments for improved GRC management. 

Step 5—Ongoing Monitoring and Enhancement: GRC is not a one-off initiative. Once your system is established, you must consistently monitor risk, update compliance protocols, and adapt governance approaches. Regular audits and assessments will help ensure your GRC program remains effective in the face of changing risks.

By adopting these steps, you can help your organization build a customized GRC program that suits your unique needs and covers critical areas of concern.

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Significant Challenges in Rolling Out a GRC Program

Deploying a GRC program can be challenging. Here are some of the most frequent obstacles and how to tackle them:

Challenge 1—Leadership Buy-in: Implementing GRC can be challenging, especially getting management’s support. To overcome this, emphasize the measurable benefits, such as lowering the risk of breaches, avoiding regulatory penalties, and improving business reputation.

Challenge 2—Integrating with Existing Systems: Organizations often face difficulties integrating GRC tools with their privacy and security systems. To overcome this, select tools compatible with your tech stack and assure strong communication between all groups, especially privacy and compliance.

Challenge 3—Compliance Fatigue: It is common for teams to become overwhelmed by the amount of work involved in implementing a program such as GRC. Prevent burnout by automating repetitive processes and providing ongoing training to keep teams engaged with GRC initiatives.

Proactively addressing these challenges will lead to a smoother GRC implementation and long-term success.

Any modern cybersecurity program should have Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), which is crucial for ensuring long-term privacy and security stability. If your organization still needs to adopt a GRC strategy, now is the time to act.

 

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Enforce and Report on PCI DSS v4 Compliance with Rapid7

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is a global forum that connects stakeholders from the payments and payment processing industries to craft and facilitate adoption of data security standards and relevant resources that enable safe payments worldwide.

According to the PCI SSC website, “PCI Security Standards are developed specifically to protect payment account data throughout the payment lifecycle and to enable technology solutions that devalue this data and remove the incentive for criminals to steal it. They include standards for merchants, service providers, and financial institutions on security practices, technologies and processes, and standards for developers and vendors for creating secure payment products and solutions.”

Perhaps the most recognizable standard from PCI, their Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), is a global standard that provides a baseline of technical and operational requirements designed to protect account data. In March 2022, PCI SSC published version v4.0 of the standard, which replaces version v3.2.1. The updated version addresses emerging threats and technologies and enables innovative methods to combat new threats. This post will cover the changes to the standard that came with version 4.0 along with a high-level overview of how Rapid7 helps teams ensure their cloud-based applications can effectively implement and enforce compliance.

What’s New With Version 4.0, and Why Is It Important Now?

So, why are we talking about the new standard nearly two years after it was published? That’s because when the standard was published there was a two year transition period for organizations to adopt the new version and implement required changes that came with v4.0. During this transition period, organizations were given the option to assess against either PCI DSS v4.0 or PCI DSS v3.2.1.

For those that haven’t yet made the jump, the time is now This is because the transition period concluded on March 31, 2024, at which time version 3.2.1 was retired and organizations seeking PCI DSS certification will need to adhere to the new requirements and best practices. Important to note, there are some requirements that have been “future-dated.” For those requirements, organizations have been granted another full year, with those updates being required by March 31, 2025.

The changes were driven by direct feedback from organizations across the global payments industry. According to PCI, more than 200 organizations provided feedback to ensure the standard continues to meet the complex, ever-changing landscape of payment security.

Key changes for this version update include:

Flexibility in How Teams Achieve Compliance / Customized Approach

A primary goal for PCI DSS v4.0 was to provide greater flexibility for organizations in how they can achieve their security objectives. PCI DSS v4.0 introduces a new method – known as the Customized Approach – by which organizations can implement and validate PCI DSS controls Previously, organizations had the option of implementing Compensating controls, however these are only applicable when a situation arises whereby there is a constraint – such as legacy systems or processes – impacting the ability to meet a requirement.

PCI DSS v4.0 now provides organizations the means to choose to meet a requirement leveraging other means than the stated requirement. Requirement 12.3.2 and Appendices D and E outline the customized approach and how to apply it. To support customers, Rapid7’s new PCI DSS v4.0 compliance pack provides a greater number of insights than in previous iterations. This should lead to increased visibility and refinement in the process of  choosing to mitigate and manage requirements.

A Targeted Approach to Risk Management

Alongside the customized approach concept, one of the most significant updates  is the introduction of targeted risk analysis (TRA). TRAallows organizations to assess and respond to risks in the context of an organization's specific operational environment. The PCI council has published guidance “PCI DSS v4 x: Targeted Risk Analysis Guidance” that outlines the two types of TRAs that an entity can employ regarding frequency of performing a given control and the second addressing any PCI DSS requirement for when an entity utilizes a customized approach.

To assist in understanding and having a consolidated view of security risks in their cloud environments, Rapid7 customers can leverage InsightCloudSec Layered Context and the recently introduced Risk Score feature. This feature combines a variety of risk signals, assigning a higher risk score to resources that suffer from toxic combinations or multiple risk vectors.Risk score holistically analyzes the risks that compound and increase the likelihood or impact of compromise.

Enhanced Validation Methods & Procedures

PCI DSS v4.0 has provided improvements to the self-assessment (SAQ) document and to the Report on Compliance (RoC) template, increasing alignment between them and the information summarized in an Attestation of Compliance to support organizations in their efforts when self-attesting or working with assessors to increase transparency and granularity.

New Requirements

PCI DSS v4.0 has brought with it a range of new requirements to address emerging threats. With modernization of network security controls, explicit guidance on cardholder data protections, and process maturity, the standard focuses on establishing sustainable controls and governance. While there are quite a few updates - which you can find detailed here on the summary of changes - let’s highlight a few of particular importance:

  • Multifactor authentication is now required for all access into the Cardholder Data Environment (CDE) - req. 8.5.1
  • Encryption of sensitive authentication data (SAD) - req. 3.3.3
  • New password requirements and updated specific password strength requirements: Passwords must now consist of 12 characters with special characters, uppercase and lowercase - reqs. 8.3.6 and 8.6.3
  • Access roles and privileges are based on least privilege access (LPA), and system components operate using deny by default - req. 7.2.5
  • Audit log reviews are performed using automated mechanisms - req. 10.4.1.1

These controls place role-based access control, configuration management, risk analysis and continuous monitoring as foundations, assisting organizations to mature and achieve their security objectives. Rapid7 can help  with implementing and enforcing these new controls, with a host of solutions that offer PCI-related support – all of which have been updated to align with these new requirements.

How Rapid7 Supports Customers to Attain PCI DSS v4.0 Compliance

InsightCloudSec allows security teams to establish, continuously measure, and illustrate compliance against organizational policies. This is accomplished via compliance packs, which are sets of checks that can be used to continuously assess your entire cloud environment - whether single or multi-cloud. The platform comes out of the box with dozens of compliance packs, including a dedicated pack for the PCI DSS v4.0.

Enforce and Report on PCI DSS v4 Compliance with Rapid7

InsightCloudSec assesses your cloud environments in real-time for compliance with the requirements and best practices outlined by PCI It also enables teams to identify, assess, and act on noncompliant resources when misconfigurations are detected. If you so choose, you can make use of the platform’s native, no-code automation to remediate the issue the moment it's detected, whether that means alerting relevant resource owners, adjusting the configuration or permissions directly or even deleting the non-compliant resource altogether without any human intervention. Check out the demo to learn more about how InsightCloudSec helps continuously and automatically enforce cloud security standards.

InsightAppSec also enables measurement against PCI v4.0 requirements to help you obtain PCI compliance. It allows users to create a PCI v4.0 report to help prepare for an audit, assessment or a questionnaire around PCI compliance. The PCI report gives you the ability to uncover potential issues that will affect the outcome or any of these exercises. Crucially, the report allows you to take action and secure critical vulnerabilities on any assets that deal with payment card data. PCI compliance auditing comes out of the box and is simple to generate once you have completed a scan against which to run the report.

Enforce and Report on PCI DSS v4 Compliance with Rapid7

InsightAppSec achieves this coverage by cross referencing and then mapping our suite of 100+ attack modules against PCI requirements, identifying which attacks are relevant to particular requirements and then attempting to exploit your application with those attacks to obtain areas where your application may be vulnerable. Those vulnerabilities are then packaged up in the PCI 4.0 report where you can see vulnerabilities listed by PCI requirements This provides you with crucial insights into any vulnerabilities you may have as well as enabling  management of those vulnerabilities in a simplistic format.

For InsightVM customers, an important change in the revision is the need to perform authenticated internal vulnerability scans for requirement 11.3.1.2. Previous versions of the standard allowed for internal scanning without the use of credentials, which is no longer sufficient. For more details see this blog post.

Rapid7 provides a wide array of solutions to assist you in your compliance and governance efforts. Contact a member of our team to learn more about any of these capabilities or sign up for a free trial.

Cyber GRC software provider Cypago has launched a new automation solution for AI governance, risk management, and compliance.

This includes implementation of NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001 standards, which are the latest frameworks for AI security and governance. As organizations increasingly incorporate AI into their business processes, daily operations, and customer-facing products and services, ensuring AI is used safely and within regulatory guidelines has become crucial.

The adoption rate of AI-powered tools and solutions is surging, fueled by the growing capabilities and accessibility of AI technologies, along with the significant advantages they offer to business operations. Yet, AI also introduces several risks such as the potential exposure of private data, opacity in operations, and escalating cyber threats. Moreover, companies must prepare for an evolving landscape of AI-related regulations within business contexts.

The optimal strategy for mitigating these risks and remaining compliant with AI regulations is to adopt robust cyber GRC practices, which continue to evolve rapidly. Cypago provides extensive risk management, around-the-clock automated monitoring, and tailored cybersecurity governance for AI applications, facilitating secure AI deployments for businesses.

“The world of AI is changing quickly, with new threats arising all the time and new regulations arriving frequently. We view it as our responsibility to help organizations maximize the benefits of AI while effectively mitigating the risks and ensuring compliance with best practices and good governance,” said Arik Solomon, CEO of Cypago. “These latest features ensure that Cypago supports the newest AI and cyber governance frameworks, enabling GRC and cybersecurity teams to automate GRC with the most up-to-date requirements.”

Cypago offers continuous visibility into an organization’s tools, applications, and models, while automating many of the processes required for effective risk evaluation and threat monitoring. The platform’s advanced security protocols for AI systems safeguard against cyber threats, data breaches, and compliance breaches.

Furthermore, Cypago has experience in deploying safe AI technologies, having integrated natural language processing models and generative AI command prompts into its offerings in 2023.

The platform enhances the management of security, risk, and compliance, streamlining the identification and rectification of gaps, which enables quicker response to new threats and vulnerabilities. It also ensures adherence to global, national, and industry-specific regulations, giving companies the confidence to navigate the intricate compliance environment related to AI use.

About Cypago

Cypago’s revolutionary SaaS-based Cyber GRC Automation (CGA) platform redefines the three lines model by eliminating friction and bridging the gap between management, security, and operations. It transforms GRC initiatives into automated processes, enabling in-depth visibility, streamlining enforcement, and significantly reducing overall costs. The platform leverages innovative technologies, including advanced analysis and correlation engines, GenAI, and NLP models, designed to support any security framework in any IT environment, both in the cloud and on-premises. Cypago was founded in 2020 by tech leaders and cybersecurity veterans with decades of combined experience in the development, operations, and commercialization of cybersecurity solutions. For more information, visit https://cypago.com/.

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Comforte AG and ACI Worldwide have announced a partnership together to accelerate payment modernisation with global PCI DSS v4.0 Compliance.

PCI DSS v3.2.1 will be retired on March 31, 2024, as it will underscore the need for businesses and companies to act swiftly and comply with v4.0 until it comes into full effect on March 31, 2025.

Real-time payments software ACI Worldwide and provider of data-centric security solutions comforte AG will focus on offering customers the needed tools and features to meet the new Payment Cards Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) v4.0 standard. In addition, the collaboration will enable ACI Worldwide to use comforte AG’s data-centric security suite of products, which were tested to be compatible with ACI’s service portfolio.

Under this partnership, ACI will use comforte’s data-centric security solutions, which ACI has rigorously tested to be compatible with ACI’s solutions.

PCI DSS is a global standard that provides a baseline of technical and operational requirements designed to protect sensitive payments data. This new version fortifies core security principles while providing more flexibility and guidance to help organizations secure account data now and in the future. Adhering to the new PCI DSS v4.0 standards is not just about compliance but a stride towards payment modernization – offering opportunities for better payment experiences and enabling the adoption of emerging technologies while bolstering protection against cyber threats.

“Market forces and security mandates such as real-time payments and PCI DSS v4.0 are key catalysts for payment modernization, paving the way for growth and innovation across the industry,” said Abe Kuruvilla, Chief Technology Officer of ACI Worldwide. “ACI’s partnership with comforte aligns with our unwavering commitment to provide our customers with the highest levels of security and fraud protection to meet the increasing security demand in this dynamic payment landscape.”

PCI DSS v4.0 requirements for data security at rest move beyond disk-level encryption to protection within applications. comforte’s Data Security Platform meets this requirement by inserting a protection layer into applications that buffers for tokenization or encryption of sensitive data. By leveraging standards-based data encryption, tokenization, and masking, the comforte Data Security Platform provides granular audit and control for regulatory compliance without affecting service levels or compromising efficiency.

“We are proud to partner with a global payment solutions leader like ACI that shares our dedication to customer service, innovation, and security. Customers around the world will benefit from enhancing their data security and privacy while maintaining usability for analysis and powering business processes,” said Michael J. Deissner, CEO at comforte AG. “ACI’s and comforte’s combined expertise and proven solutions will facilitate seamless transactions across diverse platforms while enabling customers to streamline the compliance process and achieve their security objectives.”

The post ACI Worldwide and comforte AG Pave the Way for Payment Modernization with PCI DSS v4.0 Compliance first appeared on IT Security Guru.

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Digital healthcare has been developing rapidly during the last decade: the enactment of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) in 2009 drove the majority of healthcare organizations in the US to adopt the EHR system, the COVID-19 pandemic boosted telehealth apps’ popularity, and the rapid adoption of sophisticated generative AI during the past couple of years helped virtual health assistance to become a new trend.

While such progress is undoubtedly beneficial for patients and providers, there are also downsides associated with healthcare data circulating in cyberspace. The cost of data breaches in healthcare was twice as high as in any other industry between 2022 and 2023, according to Statista. Therefore, healthcare software development still has challenges to overcome in 2024, mainly in terms of regulatory compliance and strengthening security.

Healthcare software development regulations to consider

The healthcare software regulatory landscape is full of nuances. Therefore, healthcare organizations should always consult an expert before implementing a new solution, modernizing legacy systems, or integrating their software with third-party apps.

In general, a combination of laws and standards that a healthcare app should adhere to depends on the intended purpose of the software use, the type of data it will collect, process, and store, and the geographical location of the healthcare services provider and its patients.

Global security regulations relevant to healthcare software implementation

ISO 13485 and IEC 62304. These standards focus on quality management of the medical device software development process, providing software developers and healthcare device manufacturers with a set of requirements for handling the entire software lifecycle. These rules about how software for medical devices should be designed, implemented, and maintained help strengthen the cybersecurity for software that qualifies as a medical device (SaMD) and software that will be embedded into medical devices.

HL7 (Health Level Seven). This collection of industry-wide standards regulates how clinical and administrative data gets transferred between applications. It lays the foundation of healthcare software interoperability and secure data transfer.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework. This framework provides guidance for managing cybersecurity risks. It is not mandatory, but is used by experienced healthcare app developers, because it outlines the essential practices to keep software secure.

Location-specific standards

In addition to general rules for securely developing and implementing the applications that process patients’ personal information, most countries have their regulations on such software’s development and usage:

HIPAA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a comprehensive set of standards for protecting the privacy and security of patients’ information. Any software used by patients or clinicians in the US that handles patients’ personal health information, must be designed and implemented according to HIPAA.

CCPA. The state of California has an additional privacy protection standard – the California Consumer Privacy Act – that requires companies to disclose how they acquire, store, and share their customers’ data. Healthcare providers operating within the state have to abide by this law.

GDPR. General Data Protection Regulation sets strict rules necessary for the personal data protection of European Union citizens. Healthcare software that handles patient data and is used in the EU falls under this standard.

EU MDR (Medical Device Regulation). This regulation outlines essential safety and performance requirements for medical devices sold in the European Union. Naturally, it includes cybersecurity requirements for software as a medical device that will be used inside the EU.

PDPA. In Saudi Arabia, all operations with personal data, including those performed by healthcare organizations, are regulated by the Personal Data Protection Act. It is a broad framework that lays the foundation for data security in Saudi Arabia.

SEHR. Another Saudi Arabia regulation essential for data protection in the healthcare sector is Saudi Electronic Health Record Framework. It sets security standards specifically for the implementation and use of the EHRs.

Challenges of implementing secure healthcare software

Due to multiple standards determining the rules for safe and secure healthcare application implementation, healthcare providers often struggle to adopt sufficiently secure solutions. Software providers and consultants can help them overcome challenges that depend on the following factors:

  • Number and complexity of regulations. Companies operating in multiple countries or states must navigate across and meet different international, national, and regional standards. Healthcare software consultants can assess the particular company’s type of practice, location, patient base, and other parameters to help choose the solution that fits the relevant regulatory landscape.
  • Regulations’ constant evolution. While the fact that healthcare regulations are constantly transforming to adapt to the modern state of the industry is undoubtedly a positive one, it creates additional difficulties for healthcare service providers and software developers. They must constantly stay updated on the changes and adapt their software and practices accordingly. To manage this effectively, employing tools like task timers can significantly aid in efficiently allocating time to monitor and integrate these regulatory changes. It is not an easy task, and it is costly too, especially for large corporations with complex IT ecosystems in place. It’s best to partner with a software provider that offers comprehensive support services and can help with ongoing software improvements and upgrades.
  • Tug between security and usability. Robust security measures put in place to meet stringent security regulations can be overwhelming for healthcare personnel and patients using the software. Healthcare software must be designed to strike a balance between supplying users with intuitive interfaces, enabling smooth workflows, and ensuring the safety and security of sensitive information and operations.
  • Integration with existing systems. Many healthcare organizations have complex legacy systems. Integrating new apps securely with these systems can be challenging, requiring careful data mapping, access control measures, and adherence to interoperability standards. Healthcare organizations can navigate this process better with the help of seasoned integration consultants.
  • Limited resources. Smaller healthcare providers often have limited budgets and IT staff, making investing in top-notch security solutions and expertise challenging. They have to determine the possible security breach points in their organization to address the most pressing problems first, and consider cheaper alternatives that don’t compromise security, for example, open-source secure solutions. Implementation service providers help healthcare organizations to find the cheapest solution without cutting off too much of the systems’ capabilities in the name of security.

In conclusion

Keeping sensitive healthcare data safe while providing medical personnel and patients with the convenience and comfort of digital healthcare requires a joint effort. On the one hand, software providers must consider industry specifics during the software development to deliver applications that are secure by design. At the same time, healthcare organizations must implement special measures to secure their entire ecosystem. They must adopt proper data governance strategies, enhance personnel and patients’ cyber literacy, and enforce security procedures in everyday operations.

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In the ever-evolving landscape of cloud computing, ensuring robust security measures is paramount. Federal and state governments, along with private enterprises, adhere to specific security compliance frameworks to safeguard sensitive data. This article will delve into the differences between FedRAMP, StateRAMP, and general cloud security compliance, shedding light on their unique aspects.

1.FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program):

a. Scope: FedRAMP is a U.S. government-wide program designed to standardize the security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring of cloud products and ser-ices. It specifically addresses the needs of federal agencies adopting cloud solutions.

b. Authorization Levels: FedRAMP categorizes cloud services into three impact levels: Low, Moderate, and High, based on the sensitivity and confidentiality of the data they handle. This tiered approach allows agencies to match their security requirements with the appropriate cloud service.

c. Certification Process: Cloud service providers (CSPs) seeking FedRAMP compliance undergo a rigorous authorization process, including documentation of security controls, third-party assessment, and continuous monitoring.

2.StateRAMP: (State Risk and Authorization Management Program:

a. Tailored for State and Local Governments: State Risk and Authorization Management Program (StateRAMP), modeled after FedRAMP, extends the principles of cloud security compliance to state and local governments. It acknowledges the unique needs and challenges faced by entities at this level.

b. Alignment with FedRAMP Standards: StateRAMP aligns its standards with FedRAMP, allowing state and local governments to leverage the security frameworks established at the federal level. This alignment facilitates interoperability and consistency in security measures.

c. State-Specific Requirements: While StateRAMP shares commonalities with FedRAMP, it also recognizes state-specific requirements, ensuring that compliance ad-dresses the diverse needs of different regions.

3.Cloud Security Compliance: General Considerations:

a. Data Encryption and Privacy: Cloud security compliance, irrespective of FedRAMP or StateRAMP, emphasizes robust encryption methods to protect data during storage and transmission. Privacy considerations are fundamental to these frameworks.

b. Incident Response and Monitoring: A key aspect of both FedRAMP and StateRAMP involves continuous monitoring and incident response capabilities. Timely detection and response to security incidents are crucial in maintaining the integrity of cloud environments.

c. Third-Party Assessments: Both compliance frameworks rely on third-party assessments to ensure an unbiased evaluation of security controls implemented by cloud service providers. This external validation is essential for establishing trust in the security of cloud services.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, navigating the landscape of cloud security compliance involves a nuanced under-standing of frameworks like FedRAMP, StateRAMP, and broader industry standards. While FedRAMP caters specifically to federal agencies, StateRAMP extends these principles to state and local governments, recognizing both commonalities and regional variations. Embracing these compliance frameworks is a proactive step towards fortifying cloud environments and safeguarding sensitive data in an increasingly interconnected world.

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By Sravish Sridhar, CEO & Founder, TrustCloud

In our increasingly digitally connected world, cybersecurity risks are at an all time high and only growing. With this in mind, businesses are beginning to embrace and understand, if they didn’t before, just how essential a healthy governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) program is to their organization’s overall success.

Too Many Stakeholders Need Governance, Risk, and Compliance Reports

CISOs and their teams are now inundated with numerous requests to prove their security and privacy posture. Each stakeholder requires the data to be reported in different ways:

  • Customers & Partners: They want assurance that their data is protected. Often, they use compliance frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST, HIPAA and GDPR as proof of information security. In many cases, adherence to one of (or many of) these frameworks is a necessary qualification before an organization can consider becoming a customer or partner.
  • Boards & Company Leadership: Given the size of GRC investments, and the potential liability to boards and leaders, GRC is a business level priority that requires buy-in and support from the board and C-Suite. Not only do they want to know how these resources are impacting business, they also have a strong interest in mitigating company and personal liability that comes with a security breach.
  • Internal CISOs and InfoSec Team Reporting: These are the programs they lead, therefore security professionals are heavily invested in the strategy and results of risk management and compliance.
  • Regulators: They are in charge of coming up with the specific compliance and risk management measures all organizations should be adhering to, in order to adequately protect themselves and their customers from the growing and changing modern threat landscape.
  • Auditors: External auditors are looking for specific compliance and risk artifacts; the easier it is for them to find exactly what they need, the more likely a company is to pass an audit in a reasonable timeframe.
  • CFO: CFOs need justification for the budget they are giving to CISOs. So they want to see results. And not just any results, but results that positively impact or accelerate revenue.

The Impact of the SEC’s New Cybersecurity Regulations

The SEC recently published new rules for public companies specific to cybersecurity and compliance. With the new ruling, public companies will need to:

  • Disclose material cybersecurity incidents within four business days
  • Describe processes for “assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats”
  • Report and disclose material information regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance on an annual basis
  • Describe the board of directors’ oversight of risks from cyber threats and management’s role and expertise in assessing risks and threats

While for now, this ruling only requires publicly traded companies to take these steps, these policies set new foundational standards for GRC and transparency when it comes to the way we do business. Not only will organizations be required to disclose cybersecurity incidents in a timely manner, but they will also have to share information on overall GRC and cybersecurity policies every year. Moreover, the SEC is specifically holding the board of directors and management responsible for GRC and management of cyber risk. Circling back to our question from earlier, “who cares about risk management & compliance?,” well the SEC is now making sure that an organization’s board of directors and management care, if they didn’t before.

Connecting Risk to Business Impact

While there are countless examples of what can happen to an organization when a cyber risk is exploited (think loss of data, customers, trust, tarnished brand reputation), CISOs are still struggling to connect risk to business impact and justify their security budgets.

An organization’s CFO and board will often evaluate projects based on impact, which means CISOs need data and evidence to connect how they protect against risk to how it impacts the business’s bottom line. While risk is a broad term, a more tangible definition is contractual risk – the commitments made to customers and partners, and the size of the contracts at stake if those commitments are not met. A concrete definition that reports in ARR (or another key revenue-related KPI) makes it easier for CISOs to communicate the size of relevant risks, which in turn help justify budget requests and program spend.

How Should CISOs Solve Their Reporting Requirements?

CISOs should be able to share a few key metrics that management, the board, and the CFO need to know in order to better understand the value and benefits being delivered from the security and GRC program. Metrics to share with key stakeholders include:

  • Potential Financial Impact: An estimate of how much this risk could cost factoring in direct financial loss, ransomware payments, legal costs, PR, lost business, lost competitive advantage, customer churn, or changes to insurance premiums.
  • Residual Financial Impact: How much of my potential financial impact still exists now that I have taken some action to reduce my risks? What’s the impact after I have created and implemented a treatment plan? How much liability am I still carrying?
  • Top Five Risks: CISOs and leadership teams should focus on the top five risks that have the greatest residual financial impact or represent key security threats along with how much progress is outstanding.
  • Revenue Accelerated by Security Programs: The ARR associated with contracts that required a security review. While not a direct measure of risk, it is helpful context to show how the security program impacts growth overall.

When a CISO is able to identify and share metrics like these, they can articulate the value and impact of their security and GRC program in terms that the C-Suite and board can understand, and better connect risk to business impact. When everyone is speaking the same language on compliance and risk, the result is an organization that is better aligned to prioritize, build, and maintain a healthy GRC and security program and showcase the results of that program and its benefits to customers and stakeholders.

 

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Jaye Tillson, Field CTO at Axis Security

In an era where cyber threats are evolving at an alarming pace, the role of a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has never been more critical. Today, CISOs are the guardians of an organization’s digital assets, and in this role are facing a very daunting task–they are being called to protect sensitive data, maintain customer trust, and ensure business continuity. With an ever-expanding threat landscape, the ability to deliver on these three fronts has never been more challenging. As a result, it’s essential for CISOs to establish clear priorities to navigate these turbulent waters successfully.

In my role, I have the opportunity to meet regularly with security professionals from a variety of businesses all over the globe. Over the past six months in particular, that includes some extremely informative discussions with a sizeable group of CISOs. In this article, I wanted to share what I believe are the top three priorities that are at the forefront of their agenda.

Cyber Resilience

Today we are all operating in an interconnected world and many of the CISOs I spoke to believe that it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ a cyberattack will occur. It’s hard to argue with their view. Taking that viewpoint into account, their focus was on building cyber resilience within their organizations. For them, this meant preparing for, responding to, and recovering from cyber incidents effectively. Here are some key strategies that they are considering:

  • Incident Response Plan: Develop and regularly update a comprehensive incident response plan. Once this has been shared throughout the organization, make sure that all employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities during a cyber incident. From there, it’s imperative to put this plan to the test. This includes conducting regular drills and simulations to gauge the plan’s effectiveness and, if necessary, adjusting it as needed.
  • Data Backups and Recovery: Even with the best plan, data loss is always a possibility, especially since it is no longer housed in a single, central location. These CISO’s touched on the need to implement a robust data backup and recovery processes to minimize any data loss in case of a breach. This includes verifying the integrity of backups regularly and storing them securely offline to prevent ransomware attacks.
  • Threat Intelligence: Invest in threat intelligence tools and services to stay informed about emerging threats and vulnerabilities. These CISOs widely agreed that having regular access to this information would help them proactively defend against attacks.
  • Employee Training: No matter how many solutions you invest in and the simulations you conduct, human error still remains a significant factor in security breaches. In fact,  Verizon’s 2022 Data Breaches Investigations Report (DBIR) found that 82 percent of data breaches involve a human element. According to the DBIR, this includes incidents “in which employees expose information directly (for example, by misconfiguring databases) or by making a mistake that enables cyber criminals to access the organization’s systems.” Findings like this reinforce why these CISOs state it’s essential to conduct regular cybersecurity awareness training for all employees. The goal of these efforts is simple–ensure that everyone across the businesses fully understands the importance of security best practices.

Zero Trust

Many of the CISOs felt that the traditional perimeter-based security model is no longer sufficient to protect their business against modern threats. These solutions were effective when their we focused on protecting everyone within a castle and moat (i.e., the corporate office)/ But we don’t work in castles anymore.

For this group there is widespread agreement that the answer is to adopt a Zero Trust approach to secure their organization’s digital assets. Zero Trust operates on the principle of “never trust, always verify,” and it requires a fundamental shift in how security is implemented. Their priorities were:

  • Identity and Access Management (IAM): Implement strict IAM policies to ensure that users and devices are authenticated and authorized before accessing any resources. This includes the use multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.
  • Micro-Segmentation: Divide the network into micro-segments to limit lateral movement for potential attackers. With micro-segmentation, each individual segment should have its own access controls and monitoring mechanisms.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Because security threats never sleep, businesses must employ continuous monitoring solutions that track user and device behavior, detect anomalies, and trigger alerts for suspicious activities in near real-time.
  • Application Security: Ensure that all applications, whether on-premises or in the cloud, are secure by design. In addition, regularly assess and update the business’s security posture to mitigate vulnerabilities.

Regulatory Compliance

As data privacy regulations continue to evolve worldwide, compliance is a significant concern for many of the CISOs, and with good reason. Non-compliance often leads to hefty fines and reputational damage. Just ask Amazon which in 2021 incurred an $877 million fine for breaches of the GDPR.  To address this priority, the CISOs intended to:

  • Stay Informed: Stay up-to-date with the latest data privacy regulations, such as GDPR, CCPA, NIS2, or any other relevant laws based on their organization’s geographic footprint and industry.
  • Data Protection: Implement robust data protection measures, including encryption, access controls, and data retention policies, to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
  • Third-party Risk Management: Evaluate and monitor the security practices of third-party vendors and partners to ensure they meet compliance standards, as their actions can impact their organization’s compliance status.
  • Documentation and Reporting: Maintain thorough records of security measures, audits, and compliance activities and be prepared to provide documentation to regulatory authorities if required.

Conclusion

As the digital landscape becomes increasingly complex and volatile, these CISOs knew they would be facing the formidable challenge of safeguarding their organizations against a barrage of cyber threats.  What was clear through my conversations is they all felt that by prioritizing cyber resilience, adopting Zero Trust, and ensuring regulatory compliance, they could build a robust security posture that not only protects their organization’s sensitive data but also strengthens customer trust and ensures business continuity in an ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. They also acknowledged that their role was seen as pivotal in the modern business world and that these top priorities should be their guide in securing the digital frontier.

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Join the webinar ‘PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance – Tips and Best Practices to Avoid Last-Minute Panic‘ live on September 26.

While the deadline for compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 4.0 requirements isn’t until March 31, 2024, organizations that allow those remaining months to fly by without adequate preparation may face last-minute PCI panic and penalties. The best approach is to steadily reach critical milestones, so you’ll be fully prepared when the deadline arrives.

Join Steven Sletten, Principal Systems Engineer with Fortra’s Tripwire, and Holger Schulze, Founder of Cybersecurity Insiders, for a look at:

– What is changing in the PCI 4.0 update
– How to avoid surprises by streamlining your timeline into a prioritized roadmap
– How to expertly tackle each of the requirements in time.

By starting early, you will be on the right path to making the transition a success.

Save your spot

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In today’s digital age, where mobile devices have become an integral part of healthcare delivery and patient management, maintaining the highest standards of data security and privacy is of paramount importance. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the benchmark for safeguarding sensitive patient information, even in the mobile realm. Let’s delve into what HIPAA compliance on mobile devices entails and why it’s crucial for the healthcare industry.

Understanding HIPAA Compliance:

The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and personal health information. It applies to healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses – collectively known as “covered entities.” Additionally, business associates who handle patient data on behalf of these entities are also subject to HIPAA regulations. The primary goal is to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of patient data while allowing appropriate access for healthcare providers to deliver quality care.

Extending Compliance to Mobile Devices:

With the rapid proliferation of smartphones and tablets in healthcare, the need to extend HIPAA compliance to mobile devices has become imperative. Patient data is increasingly accessed, shared, and transmitted through these devices, making them potential points of vulnerability if not properly secured.

To achieve HIPAA compliance on mobile devices, consider the following key steps:

1. Device Encryption: All mobile devices used to access patient data should have encryption enabled. This ensures that even if a device is lost or stolen, the data stored on it re-mains unreadable without the encryption key.

2. Secure Access: Implement strong authentication methods like passwords, biometrics, or multi-factor authentication to ensure only authorized personnel can access patient in-formation.

3. App Management: Regularly update and patch mobile applications used for healthcare tasks. Additionally, limit the installation of third-party apps that could compromise data security.

4. Remote Wiping: Enable the capability to remotely wipe data from a device in case it’s lost or stolen. This prevents unauthorized access to patient information.

5.Data Storage: Patient data should not be stored locally on mobile devices unless necessary. Instead, favor secure cloud storage solutions with robust encryption and access controls.

6.Training and Policies: Provide comprehensive training to healthcare professionals on HIPAA compliance and the proper use of mobile devices. Establish clear policies for device usage and data handling.

Consequences of Non-Compliance:

Failure to ensure HIPAA compliance on mobile devices can lead to severe consequences, including hefty fines and legal actions. In 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services settled with a healthcare provider for $100,000 due to potential HIPAA violations involving the exposure of patient data on a mobile app.

Conclusion:

As the healthcare industry embraces mobile technology to enhance patient care and streamline processes, maintaining HIPAA compliance on mobile devices becomes non-negotiable. Robust security measures, staff training, and strict adherence to guidelines are essential to safeguard patient privacy, protect sensitive data, and uphold the principles of the HIPAA Privacy Rule in the dynamic landscape of mobile healthcare.

The post Ensuring HIPAA Compliance on Mobile Devices: A Vital Guide appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.