Cybersecurity and compliance go hand in hand. And with cyber threats continuing to grow and evolve, it’s important to make sure you are not only meeting the compliance requirements for your business or industry but exceeding them.
Here are 3 common types of data compliance, what business types they affect, and why you should care about them.
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)
The first type of data compliance we wanted to discuss is Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). This compliance certification is for the government, and more specifically the DoD (Department of Defense) to help determine if a business has the necessary security protocols to work with controlled or vulnerable data.
To achieve certification, your organization typically has to build and follow the CMMC framework and best practices.
There are 5 levels of CMMC certification, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 5 the highest.
Most companies have already achieved Level 1 status. This includes just a basic set of security systems, password hygiene, and antivirus protection.
Conversely, Level 5 is more difficult. Companies must approach their data compliance with a proactive mindset, which includes tools that detect and stop or slow a threat’s momentum before they start. You must also have processes that audit infrastructure, identify weak spots and holes in that infrastructure, and can fix them. This level is constantly being upgraded.
Whether you work with the DoD or not, cybersecurity best practices should put you in the Level 4 or 5 range in order to mitigate risk to your operations.
To achieve compliance certification under CMMC, you must have a third-party audit. CyberFort is equipped for this!
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is “a legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the European Union (EU).”
You may be thinking, “I don’t need this, my company is based in the US and I do most or all of my business here.” The problem with that is the GDPR applies to websites regardless of where they are based, which means if you can or do attract European visitors to your website, you’ll need this compliance certification. GDPR data compliance applies to organizations operating within the EU, as well as those organizations outside the EU that offer goods or services to consumers based in the EU.
Under the GDPR, organizations must ensure that all personal data is gathered legally and those who collect and manage that data must protect it from misuse and exploitation.
The GDPR has 7 key principles, according to the Information Commissioner’s office:
- Personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently
- Purpose limitation – the data must be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed
- Data minimization – personal data collected must be adequate, relevant, and limited to only what is necessary
- Accuracy – data must be kept up to date, with inaccurate data being erased or updated
- Storage limitation – the data must be kept in a form that doesn’t prolong the ability of users or bad actors to identify data subjects
- Integrity and confidentiality (security) – includes protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing, as well as accidental loss, destruction, or damage
- Accountability – those who possess the data are responsible for its safekeeping
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
The California Consumer Privacy Act is a relatively new type of data compliance, having been instituted in 2018 as the first comprehensive privacy law that was passed in the United States. Its goal was to give California consumers more control over how their personal information was used with respect to privacy.
According to the CCPA, any data that identifies, describes, or could be linked with a specific customer or household is covered under this data compliance. Individuals have the power to instruct businesses to stop selling their personal information, as well as the right to opt out of this dynamic.
When it comes to which businesses are affected by this regulation, you have to look at two things: the territorial scope and the material scope.
Under the territorial scope, any organization doing business in California must be CCPA compliant. There are a few exceptions, though. If the information was collected while the consumer was outside of California, no part of the sale of the information occurred in California, and if no personal information collected in California was ever sold, the CCPA does not apply.
The material scope talks about the processing, collection, and sale of personal information. The processing can be done manually or via automated processes. And the collection of personal information includes buying, renting, receiving, or accessing that information.
CyberFort is Data Compliance Made Easy
At CyberFort, our experts work with a diverse range of compliance and security frameworks. Compliance standards and regulations are being applied to more and more industries and business types every year, and it doesn’t get easier to maintain compliance over time.
That’s what we’re here for. With a variety of bespoke and other cybersecurity frameworks, CyberFort Advisors not only provides the expertise you need once you’re a client, but we also offer a pre-assessment tool to help you determine where you’re at in the certification process.