Network vulnerabilities can leave an organization’s entire IT environment compromised. Sensitive data can be lost or (even worse) stolen by cybercriminals. A data breach can severely harm your company’s reputation and bring substantial financial losses. Worse, these vulnerabilities are constantly evolving. Hackers have proven methods to infiltrate a seemingly secure network, and they employ various tricks, devices, and information to get the job done.

Data privacy has become a paramount concern in the digital age, as organizations collect and process vast amounts of personal information. As a result, governments are increasingly enacting data privacy laws. While the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets a global benchmark for data protection, the United States lacks a comprehensive federal data privacy law. Instead, businesses operating in the U.S.

The collection and evaluation of audit evidence plays an important role in assessing an organization’s compliance with established standards. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) serves as a guiding force, establishing methods that auditors should use to carry out their duties effectively. As auditors start their examination, they first collect and analyze various types of audit evidence, each serving as a piece of the puzzle that forms the auditor’s report.

Compliance with regulatory requirements works best when you understand the terms of art used in compliance and cybersecurity, such as the difference between penetration tests and vulnerability scans. You can perform many types of tests to assess the state of your data security, vulnerability scans and penetration tests being among the most important — but they are not the same thing, and they serve different purposes.

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The increasing number and sophistication of data breaches has led to increased concern among boards, regulators, and the public about threats to the data environment. That, in turn, has led to a desire for constant data protection – and a rise in the importance of continuous compliance monitoring to be sure that those data protection efforts are always sufficient and working.

Are you considering whether cyber insurance is worth it for your organization? It could be. With the rise in ransomware, DDoS attacks and data breaches, cyber insurance is being used as a way for companies to protect themselves as they realize risks in their business. However, many insurers are now excluding ransomware1 and state-backed attacks2 from their coverage. So, how can you determine whether cyber insurance is worth it?

Compliance testing, also known as conformance testing, is a periodic, independent, and objective assessment of compliance-related processes or controls. As the name implies, you’re testing those controls to see how well they actually work.

Compliance is often viewed as a “one and done” activity – an annual rite of passage, for example, performed during yearly audits. That is an archaic approach to compliance in the modern business world, and won’t suffice any longer. Instead, organizations must adopt a mindset of continuous compliance, where adherence to regulatory requirements becomes integral to day-to-day operations. How can a company achieve that evolved state?

The demands and pressure on GRC and cybersecurity professionals are increasing more than ever before, which means teams need to expand and grow to keep up. However, companies are finding it difficult to fill their open positions with skilled staff. In fact, 80% of GRC and IT security professionals agree that their cybersecurity and risk teams are understaffed, found the 2023 RiskOptics Cyber Risk Viewpoints Report. What does this mean for you?

A crucial part of building a robust and effective enterprise risk management (ERM) program is to perform a periodic review of your organization’s risk management activities. This assessment process is best accomplished using an established risk maturity model, an essential tool to plan and mitigate enterprise risk. A risk maturity model (RMM) is an assessment tool focused on your organization’s risk culture and risk management program.