Security vs. Compliance: Why Security Should Lead the Way
Welcome to this week’s Forbes Cybersecurity Briefing! Today, we’re diving into a topic that often confuses businesses: the difference between security and compliance. More importantly, we’ll explain why security should always come first and compliance should follow as part of a broader risk management strategy.
Understanding Security and Compliance
What is Security?
At its core, security is about protecting your business’s data and systems. It’s a combination of tools, processes, and best practices designed to prevent downtime, data breaches, and unauthorized access. A strong security strategy allows employees to do their jobs while safeguarding your data, or your customer’s data, from falling into the wrong hands.
Security is dynamic and adaptive, responding quickly to evolving threats. It focuses on results: stopping bad actors, detecting threats, and securing vulnerabilities.
What is Compliance?
Compliance, on the other hand, involves adhering to regulations, standards, and policies that aim to make your business more secure. Examples include HIPAA for healthcare, PCI DSS for credit card transactions, and the Department of Defense’s CMMC framework. Compliance focuses on documentation, audits, and consistent practices to meet legal and industry expectations. If you are in an industry that requires compliance, non-compliance can lead to fines.
While compliance is important, it often feels rigid and less tailored to your organization’s specific needs. Unlike security, compliance emphasizes processes and policies rather than rapid, results-driven action.
The Key Differences
- Flexibility: Security adapts quickly to threats, while compliance adheres to strict rules.
- Focus: Security prioritizes results (e.g., blocking threats), while compliance ensures proper policies and procedures are in place.
- Implementation Speed: Security can be implemented rapidly; compliance takes time due to its detailed requirements.
Why Security Should Come First
Starting with security builds a strong foundation for compliance. Implementing security practices such as application allow listing, managed detection and response, threat hunting, ransomware detection, patch management, multi-factor authentication, password management, and system inventory management not only protects your business but also aligns with many compliance requirements.
Our approach at 4BIS Cyber Security focuses on the 80/20 rule: we aim to achieve 80% of the security benefits with 20% of the effort. For example, installing our software packages and securing your network can significantly reduce vulnerabilities in just a few days. Take care of the low hanging fruit first. Once security is in place, compliance becomes easier to achieve because many security measures naturally overlap with compliance standards.
Gap Analysis
Compliance frameworks expect you to tackle security first. Most will have you run a gap analysis. This is an audit of the security practices you are currently using. This gives you items to work on to become compliant and more secure.
The Role of Compliance
Compliance serves as a guiding framework that ensures your security efforts are consistent, documented, and legally defensible. Following a compliance framework can help:
- Avoid Penalties: Many laws, like Ohio’s Safe Harbor Law, protect businesses from certain liabilities if they adhere to recognized frameworks.
- Gain Competitive Advantage: Compliance can open doors to contracts and opportunities, especially in regulated industries like defense or finance. CMMC is currently new. Getting on this early can put you in front of your competitors.
- Align Leadership: Compliance encourages business leaders to understand and prioritize cybersecurity as part of their overall risk management strategy.
Building a Cybersecurity Strategy
Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, the key is to strike a balance between security and compliance. Start with the “low-hanging fruit” of security, addressing obvious vulnerabilities, and use compliance frameworks to refine and document your processes.
Remember, there’s no such thing as a 100% secure business, but with the right strategy, you can significantly reduce risks and protect your operations.
Ready to Get Started?
If you have questions or want to learn more, reach out to us at 4BIS Cyber Security and IT Services. Give us a call at 513-494-4444 or fill out our contact us form. Let’s work together to make your business more secure!
