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Compliance monitoring is essential for any business dealing with sensitive data. It’s key to ensuring adherence to critical laws and regulations and is part of a multi-pronged approach that organizations take to remain up to standard. But what is compliance monitoring? In a nutshell, compliance monitoring is the process by which companies employ systematic tools and strategies to track their compliance efforts. Here’s what you need to know about it.
Say a business wants to get serious about its compliance efforts and implement a monitoring program. Where do they start? And what exactly does the process entail?
To get started with compliance monitoring, you first need to understand which laws and regulations apply to your business. Familiarize yourself with these requirements and make sure your staff understands them inside and out.
For example, if you work in the healthcare industry, one of the major regulations you need to comply with is HIPAA, a federal law that safeguards protected health information (PHI). Though there are some laws that virtually all companies must abide by, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Payment Card Industry PCI standards, others are industry-specific, so it’s important to do your research.
Risk assessment and analysis is crucial to effective compliance monitoring. It involves identifying and evaluating potential risks that could prevent your organization from meeting its compliance obligations. Identify the threats you are most at risk for, consider their potential impact, and determine the likelihood of their occurrence.
Without uniform procedures in place, compliance becomes difficult, if not impossible. Once you’ve got an idea of the possible risks, you should develop or update your compliance policies to align with newfound risks and/or requirements. Create official documents that clearly outline how your organization plans to comply with relevant standards. Establish procedures to be followed on a regular basis, whether day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, or less frequently.
For monitoring and compliance, you need to regularly review operations to ensure protocols are being followed. Consider using automated monitoring tools that track compliance metrics in real-time. Periodically, you will also need to conduct more in-depth evaluations or audits. These can be performed by your in-house compliance team (if you have one), or a third-party auditor. You will also need to include the following techniques.
A key element of compliance is training and education. Staff should be made aware of critical monitoring protocols. Tailor different programs to different roles in your organization. For instance, compliance training for IT will likely look a bit different from compliance training for HR. Here are a few vital training topics for employees:
While this list is far from exhaustive, it’s a good place to start. By helping employees understand what compliance monitoring is and what it involves, you can get off on the right foot and ensure your program is a success.
Compliance controls help businesses prevent, detect, and respond to violations. One of the most common preventative methods organizations use is controlled access. This basically means that only approved parties get access to certain information. There are several different tools you can implement to safeguard data from unauthorized persons, including passkeys.
Chances are, you will encounter issues at some point during the process. When that happens, it pays to have an incident response plan in place so that you can easily report incidents and resume regular business operations. Be sure to establish clear guidelines for reporting violations and taking corrective action.
Compliance monitoring requires ongoing effort from the entire organization. Over time, you may find that certain procedures are no longer effective, and you will need to update policy and training to reflect these changes. Keep an open line of communication with stakeholders and regulatory bodies. This demonstrates a commitment to compliance and transparency.
Non-compliance is a growing issue, one that has significant consequences for offenders. Violating cybersecurity and data privacy laws can cost businesses several thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the nature and duration of the offense.
The good news is you can offset these kinds of hefty penalties by implementing a strong compliance monitoring program. Monitoring and compliance also offer a number of other benefits.
What better way to improve operational efficiency than by closely scrutinizing your existing processes? Compliance monitoring forces companies to take a long, hard look at the way they do things and identify areas for improvement. It encourages them to get on board with the latest tech and compliance best practices, which can enhance business operations across the board.
Organizations with compliance monitoring programs may be seen more favorably in their respective industries, as it shows they take compliance seriously. It can also help foster customer trust and loyalty, which Forbes describes as “the key to brand currency.”
No one wants to work for an irresponsible company. Prioritizing compliance monitoring helps shift the liability off of employees, giving them peace of mind and a sense of pride in the work they do. Also, clear compliance guidelines provide employees with a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities, reducing uncertainty and lowering workplace stress.
It’s best to catch and stop threats in their tracks, if possible. By continuously monitoring and ensuring compliance with relevant rules and regulations, businesses can mitigate all sorts of risks, from social engineering to IoT malware attacks which rose by 37% in 2023. Compliance monitoring doesn’t just spot non-compliance issues, it also helps organizations manage cybersecurity risks.
Remaining compliant with all the laws and regulations out there can be challenging, to say the least. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the seemingly never-ending barrage of new requirements. So, what is compliance monitoring? It’s utilizing tools to ensure compliance, which can help you stay on track so that little issues don’t become costly disasters.
Understanding what compliance monitoring is and how it works is key to staying on the right side of the law. Compyl helps businesses like yours manage risk and stay on top of compliance monitoring. To learn more about this process and how we can assist with your efforts, contact us today.
