Banner Default Image

Security & Compliance

What is security compliance?​

A dictionary definition of security compliance would be this: security compliance is the set of controls and practices a business implements to meet regulatory obligations, industry standards, and internal policies for safeguarding sensitive data, protecting IT assets, and reducing information security risk.

Alternatively, we could look at things from a management perspective and frame it this way: security compliance is a disciplined, systemic approach to assuring that your operations, systems, and processes meet security criteria defined by regulators or established cybersecurity frameworks.

These are nice definitions, but what do they mean in practice? What does security compliance actually entail daily? Let’s unpack security compliance into several primary components to answer those questions.

Regulatory compliance

Regulatory compliance is exactly what the name suggests: you must comply with certain regulations that govern data privacy or cybersecurity. Examples include theEU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), andISO 27001. All include specific, exacting requirements for risk assessments, testing, encryption, and more. 

Companies have no choice but to build security compliance programs that can meet their regulatory obligations. If you don’t, regulators might swoop in with monetary penalties, onerous compliance reforms, and reporting obligations you’ll need to meet.