Data security and compliance have always been major concerns for IT organizations. For example, you have to be compliant with legislation like HIPAA, if you operate in the healthcare industry. Or, DFARS if you’re working on government contract.
Major data breaches in recent years, and society’s growing dependence on technology has motivated subsequent governments of various countries to come up with stricter compliance measures in a bid to stop leaks.
However, many companies remain either uninformed about new regulations, or just fail to comply as they get bogged down with trials and tribulations. These laws exist due to security concerns around personal data, and a right to privacy. You must start taking them seriously, as failure to comply can lead to huge fines.
The Difficulty With Compliance
As technology has advanced, so have hacks. Organizations have to deal with a variety of situations that throw up a cyber-security threat. This makes it difficult to find yourself complying with regulations when the inevitable audit comes your way. Some of the challenges, faced by companies today include:
BYOD
Bring-your-own-device has been a tech trend for a while. Millennials like the convenience of being able to work on their own device. While many companies have adopted BYOD policies to keep up with the times, they haven’t upgraded their security to match. Without proper mobile device management protocols, organizations struggle to protect data.
Upgrade and Patch Management
Enterprise software has come on leaps and bounds. As dependence on the cloud has grown, companies have adopted enterprise software that come with regular patches and upgrades as developers consistently solve issues that arise. While constant support for software is definitely a plus, companies often struggle to reap its benefits. Inexperienced teams handling upgrades often don’t go through with the updates and patches as they find it complicated. Or, they do it wrong. Last year’s Equifax breach has smartened up a lot of companies against running un-patched software. You should too.
Internet of Things (IoT)
We have seen an explosive growth interconnected devices in recent years. But, IoT devices are amongst the most vulnerable to attacks. Automated or constant 24/7 monitoring is a necessity when running IoT devices.
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation of 2018 is probably, the first of many updated data protection acts in the making to come into effect. It looks specifically at organizations respecting individual privacy of data for all information pertaining to EU citizens. You need to incorporate enterprise-wide data mapping and a data inventory, or it can cost you up to 4% of your annual global turnover in fines.
If you feel that you don’t have the resources to provide compliance, despite the above mentioned risks, why not partner with a managed service provider (MSP)?
ProV International Inc. are a premier global MSP with a proven track record of increasing compliance for clients. By outsourcing your IT to us, you gain access to a global team of IT experts that frees up your internal IT teams to focus on driving your core business.
Our dedicated and personalized managed IT services can help your business meet vital governance and compliance measures, by handling critical security patches, handling change management, ensuring smooth roll-outs and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn more about how ProV managed services can help you increase compliance and data security, drop a comment below or contact us today.
