In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying ahead of threats and ensuring the safety of sensitive customer data is paramount. For organizations that handle payment card information, complying with industry standards like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is not only a best practice, but a compliance requirement that can result in hefty fines upwards of $100,000 a month.

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has decided its’ about time to call for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first data protection law. The Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), originally included a public consultation component when it was launched by SDAIA in late 2022. Since then, the public consultation was withdrawn, and the draft version of the data protection law augmenting PDPL was issued.

While regulations like Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 have expanded in size and scope in the past several years, my experience with CMMC actually dates back to early 2017. At the time, I was working with a client who was a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. They were looking to jump into the deep end and start implementing the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which CMMC is based upon.

While always a part of business, compliance demands have skyrocketed as the digital world gives us so many more ways to go awry. We all remember the Enron scandal that precipitated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Now, SOX compliance means being above board on a number of cybersecurity requirements as well. Fortra's Tripwire recently released a new guide: How Managed Services Can Help with Cybersecurity Compliance.

To operate legally and ethically, every company, no matter the size or type of organization, must be aware of the laws, regulations, and industry standards that govern them. Though many businesses may view regulatory compliance as a burden, it does not have to be this way. The benefits of following these rules greatly outweigh the consequences. Organizations can ensure the safety and well-being of their employees, customers, and the general public by following these regulations.

Getting compliant can be a time-consuming and tedious process when done manually. That’s why thousands of businesses use Vanta to automate up to 90% of the work needed to comply with security and privacy frameworks. ‍ Why do companies choose Vanta? They’re looking to unlock business growth and expand into new markets or larger accounts, streamline their compliance processes, and strengthen their security posture to earn trust with stakeholders.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a framework for data protection that gives strict obligations for organizations within the European Union. For many businesses, understanding and implementing GDPR vendor management is a daunting task. That’s why we are going to break down what GDPR vendor management is, who is involved in it, and what the requirements are.

Many data breaches start with a compromised account from one of a company’s employees. Jérôme Berloty and Benjamin Netter decided to build a product based on that fact and launched Riot in 2020. ‍ Based in Paris, France, Riot combines learning modules and phishing simulations to raise cyber awareness and solve compliance needs. The courses are chat-based, five minutes long, and immersive and interactive, making learning more entertaining. ‍

Penn State University is in hot water again for legal and compliance violations. This time, the activities in question are related to the university’s claim to be compliant under NIST SP 800-171, as required by Executive Order 13556 (2019). As a contractor and partner of the U.S. Government, Penn State is required to implement a minimum set of security controls around Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) it collects, creates, or handles as part of its partnership with the government.