If you’re a security provider helping organizations protect their data and systems, compliance should be top of mind. Recent high-profile breaches have shown what happens when security companies don’t rigorously follow industry standards and best practices. It can destroy customer trust and sink your business.

But compliance isn’t just about avoiding disaster. Done right, it can actually help you gain a competitive edge and win more opportunities. In this post, we’ll look at why compliance matters, outline the major certifications, and explore practical steps to embed compliance into your organizational DNA.

Why Compliance Matters for Security Companies

Compliance provides legally-enforceable guidelines for implementing security controls when handling sensitive customer information. By adhering to established frameworks, you demonstrate your commitment to:

Securing customer data – Compliance requires you to implement specific safeguards like access controls, encryption, security monitoring, and incident response plans. This protects networks, systems, and data from breaches and leaks. Customers can have confidence you take protection seriously.

Maintaining privacy – Many regulations include strong privacy components to prevent mishandling of personal information. This reassures customers you respect data rights and won’t misuse their information.

Inspiring trust – Independent audits validate you meet security and privacy benchmarks. Compliance certifications signal customers can trust you’ll be a responsible custodian of their data and systems.

Avoiding fines – Non-compliance often carries stiff financial penalties, lawsuits, and loss of contracts. Compliance helps avoid these expensive consequences if something does go wrong.

Winning business – For many customers, compliance is a mandatory criterion before contracting you. Being certified opens doors to RFPs and expanded business opportunities you’d otherwise miss.

Clearly, non-compliance is risky for security providers. But viewed positively, compliance represents an opportunity to stand out through validated security practices. Now let’s explore the specific certifications you need on your radar.

Common Compliance Standards for Security Providers

While there are dozens of IT compliance frameworks, several core standards apply to most security providers:

ISO/IEC 27001

ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard focused on information security management. It provides requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an information security management system within an organization.

Key requirements include risk management, asset management, access controls, cryptography, physical security, and incident management. Organizations receive ISO/IEC 27001 certification by an accredited third-party auditor after meeting all requirements.

This standard applies to security providers that handle customer data, such as managed security services, identity and access management firms, and security software companies.

SOC 2 

SOC 2 reports are done by auditors to assess internal controls relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. There are two types – SOC 2 Type 1 audits the design of controls while Type 2 audits the implementation.  

These reports assure customers that a security provider has necessary processes, policies, and procedures in place to protect their data and systems. Cloud access security brokers, managed detection and response firms, and data center colocation providers often require SOC 2 certification.

PCI DSS

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) applies to any organization that processes, stores, or transmits payment card data. It contains stringent requirements for data security and access management.  

PCI DSS is critical for security providers in payment ecosystems, such as fraud prevention and payment gateway services. Non-compliance leads to fines and the loss of card network privileges.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) governs protection and confidential handling of protected health information (PHI). It applies to healthcare providers as well as third parties that create, access, store, or transmit PHI.

Security providers that offer services to healthcare organizations must comply with HIPAA requirements around data security, access controls, auditing, policies, and employee training.

This overview covers some of the major compliance standards relevant for security providers. But there are many other vertical, regional, and client-specific certifications that may apply as well. Conducting thorough due diligence is essential.

Steps to Ensure Compliance  

Simply pursuing compliance certifications without ongoing rigor will not lead to meaningful results. Security providers need mature internal practices to remain compliant over the long-term. Here are key steps to make this happen:

Conduct Risk Assessments

Periodically carry out in-depth assessments of privacy and security risks facing the company. Identify potential weak points across people, processes, data, and technology. Risk assessments create the foundation for where to focus compliance efforts.

Create Policies and Procedures

Document detailed policies, procedures, and standards based on compliance requirements and risk assessment findings. Cover issues like access management, data handling, incident response, auditing, awareness training, and third-party oversight.

Train Employees 

Educate all personnel on compliance policies and procedures through training programs. Test comprehension through quizzes. Training ensures employees follow protocols consistently without relying on memory.

Monitor and Audit  

Implement system monitoring to detect potential compliance failures or high-risk activity. Conduct internal audits at least annually to verify consistent adherence to standards. Monitoring and auditing identify gaps to correct.

Review Third-Party Providers  

Assess partners, vendors, and subcontractors to confirm they also follow applicable compliance regulations. Formal reviews of third-parties limit compliance risks they may introduce.

These steps require considerable resources and cross-department coordination. However, the rigorous effort pays dividends through certified compliance and reduced risks.

Using Compliance as a Selling Point 

Aside from reducing risks, there are proactive ways security providers can leverage compliance to boost sales and marketing:

– List compliance certifications prominently on the company website, sales materials, and RFP responses. Tout them as proof points on why customers should trust the company.

– Create compliance FAQ pages explaining requirements in layman’s terms. Use these to educate prospective customers on why compliance matters.

– Train sales teams on communicating compliance standards clearly and concisely to customers during the sales process.

– Write blog posts and whitepapers detailing the company’s compliance journey. Publish these as thought leadership.

– Highlight compliance as a key differentiator when competitors also make similar capability claims. Use it as a tiebreaker.

– Issue press releases announcing certification achievements to build public reputation.

Following compliance standards rigorously gives security providers credibility. Savvy providers further extract marketing value out of this to attract more customers.

Maintaining Compliance Over Time

The compliance journey does not end after first obtaining certifications. Security providers must establish internal processes to:

– Continuously monitor information security controls and assess risks

– Update policies and procedures as regulations and business practices evolve

– Provide ongoing education and compliance training to new employees 

– Maintain effective oversight of vendors and partners  

– Have mechanisms to detect and report on non-compliance incidents

– Renew compliance certifications when they expire

Additionally, providers should perform annual audits and risk assessments to confirm they still meet compliance criteria as defined. Internal processes that support sustained compliance reduce audit preparation scrambles.

When done right, compliance does not have to be an occasional checkbox activity. Rather, it becomes ingrained into everyday business operations – enabling long-term adherence.

Conclusion

Compliance provides security providers with a competitive edge. But more importantly, it builds customer trust and mitigates business risks.

Leading security providers recognize compliance as both an opportunity and an obligation. They invest substantial resources to ingrain certification requirements into their organizational DNA. 

With cyber threats growing each day, clients deserve assurance their most sensitive data and systems are in the hands of security providers that make compliance a top priority. Those providers that rise to meet this challenge will be best positioned for success.