In an era where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated and unpredictable, prioritizing risk management has become critical. Cybersecurity breaches, whether from malware, ransomware, or other attacks, can inflict substantial damage on your organization’s infrastructure and reputation. However, it’s not just about cyber threats.

In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, the ability to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance is crucial for business success. All companies, regardless of size, face an array of regulations and standards that demand diligent oversight and management. This is where compliance risk assessments come into play.

In an era where regulatory frameworks are continuously evolving, and the cost of non-compliance is higher than ever, organizations are increasingly turning to compliance risk management software. Such tools not only streamline the process of adhering to legal and ethical standards but also safeguard against the financial and reputational damages of non-compliance.

In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, businesses face a myriad of risks that can disrupt their operations. From natural disasters to cyber-attacks, the potential threats are numerous and varied. Understanding and planning for these risks is not just a matter of safeguarding assets; it’s about ensuring the very survival of the business. This blog explores the multifaceted nature of business continuity risks and provides a strategic framework for planning and response.

In the beginning, there was “the cloud.” The concept was a bit fuzzy around the edges (like all clouds), but compliance officers understood what the term meant. The cloud was the ability of one company to provide computing, storage, and networking capabilities to other companies via the Internet — whenever the customer needed those services, and as many services as needed. As cloud computing evolved, so did specializations.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requires publicly traded companies to declare and adopt a framework that the business will use to “define and assess internal controls.” In response, most publicly traded companies have adopted one of two frameworks that meet the SOX requirements: the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) internal control framework and the IT Governance Institute’s Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT).

The rise of cloud computing has been one of the most transformative technologies of the past several decades. According to research firm Gartner, public cloud services spending will increase from $313 billion in 2020 to $482 billion in 2022. Further, by 2026, it will exceed 45 percent of all enterprise IT spending, up from less than 17 percent in 2021. There’s no doubt that cloud adoption will continue to increase.

Acknowledging the invaluable role of spreadsheets in managing Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tasks over the years is like tipping our hats to a steadfast companion. These trusty tools have been the go-to for many organizations, embedded so deeply that a 2020 Forrester Research study revealed that 82 percent still rely on spreadsheets for handling third-party risk. And undeniably, they’ve served their purpose to a certain point.

For many organizations, the transition to the cloud for data storage is inevitable. Whether shifting operations entirely to a cloud environment or modernizing your systems using cloud-based applications, you must choose the best cloud computing platform with the best cloud security for your compliance program.

In today’s complicated, highly interdependent business environment, assuring business security is not just a regulatory requirement. It’s also a vital component of a successful business strategy. Automation becomes crucial in such a world, offering innovative solutions that streamline operations, mitigate risks, enhance overall safety, and provide peace of mind.

Conventional cybersecurity management solutions are becoming outdated, unable to handle the exponential growth of sophisticated security threats. Plus, financial and talent constraints impede the ability of security teams to expand. Given those difficult circumstances, how can security teams improve their capacity to minimize data breaches even amid today’s increasingly complex attack surfaces? Enter cybersecurity automation.

The United States enacted the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) in 2002 as part of the E-Government Act of 2002 to enhance the administration of electronic government services and operations, and since has been amended by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA 2014). This law requires federal agencies to develop, implement, and maintain an information security program to protect the sensitive data they handle.

Managing risk is a complicated task because modern organizations have so many risks to address. One way to track all those risks is via a risk register — essentially, a catalog of your company’s risks and how you’re trying to manage them. This article serves as an introduction to risk registers: what they are, how they can help your risk management program, and what you should consider as you’re evaluating various risk register products before you buy one.

Even before the pandemic forced most of us to shop online, we were already heading in that direction — an easy transition considering that, according to Experian, each U.S. consumer carries an average of four credit cards from which to choose. However, this increase in credit card usage also brings more significant risks associated with collecting customer data.

According to the Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report, the cloud has already become “mainstream,” with organizations in almost every industry migrating into it in increasing numbers. Cloud migration refers to moving an organization’s digital assets from legacy, “on-premise” (on-prem) infrastructure to the cloud. That would include IT assets such as: Soon, 59 percent of organizations plan to focus on cloud migration.

Every IT organization focuses on incident prevention, as even the slightest “situation” involving security breaches, system outages, or other significant incidents can significantly damage a company’s reputation. This slippery slope erodes client trust, hinders sales, and chips away at your customer base.

Audits are independent assessments of the security of sensitive data and computer systems or a company’s financial reporting. Audits can be time-consuming and often feel peripheral to most people’s daily workload – but they are crucial exercises. Hence, it’s essential to establish an audit management process.

However safe and resilient your company’s operations might be, there’s always the chance that something will occur to interrupt business operations. Hence every company should have a disaster recovery plan that maps out how to respond to a disaster, so that the company can return to normal operations as soon as possible. That said, companies need to do more than write a plan.

For most businesses, third-party vendors are essential to the business ecosystem. A study by Gartner found that in 2019, 60 percent of organizations worked with more than 1,000 third parties. As those networks continue to grow, so will the cybersecurity threats that third-party vendor relationships pose to your business. These partnerships have unprecedented access to sensitive data and systems across the supply chain network.