What is a vCISO & Why One Helps You Stay Compliant With Regulations

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What is a vCISO? A virtual chief information security officer (vCISO) brings expert cybersecurity oversight to your organization. Employing a virtual CISO is especially beneficial if your full-time CISO is unavailable or overbooked. The insights an expert vCISO can provide will help you align your cybersecurity strategy with industry regulations and compliance standards.

“Staying within your compliance requirements is your legal obligation. However, not all compliance bodies fully address evolving threats. You need a security strategy that both meets and exceeds your compliance requirements to adequately protect yourself.”  – Tab Bradshaw, Chief Operating Officer, Redpoint Cybersecurity

As threats continue to evolve, maintaining robust compliance measures while protecting yourself from advanced threats becomes increasingly difficult. Crowdstrike®’s 2023 Global Threat Report revealed that 71% of cyber attacks are enacted without malware.

This discovery highlights the need to go above simply meeting your regulatory requirements if they don’t adequately address the current threat landscape.

The right vCISO can help you strike that balance. They can combine security expertise, familiarity with regulatory standards, and an understanding of your business goals to help you tailor a cybersecurity strategy that truly works. This blog will demonstrate how that can be done.

 

 

Performing Compliance Readiness Assessments

By conducting a thorough compliance readiness assessment, a vCISO determines how well your current security policies and practices meet your compliance requirements. This process involves identifying compliance gaps in your security posture and then devising a tailored plan to address these gaps.

These assessments are performed on a regular basis.This is to ensure that your organization keeps pace with any compliance requirement changes and to ensure that any new changes in your IT ecosystem are up to standard.

Developing & Updating Your Security Policies

Based on their assessment, a vCISO can work with your security team to develop compliance-focused cybersecurity policies or update current ones. They will take your IT environment, business processes, and any other industry benchmarks into account as they do this work.

For example, they can help you create policies regarding the following matters that address these concerns in a way that’s practical for your organization to implement.

 

Compliance Regulation	Cybersecurity Concern
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)	Access control and identity verification for ePHI ePHI integrity against improper alteration or destruction Secure transfer, disposal, and reuse of electronic devices containing ePHI
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)	Security incident notification procedures Enhanced privacy and security requirements for ePHI Compliance with expanded HIPAA rules
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)	Protecting customers’ nonpublic personal information Ensuring the security and confidentiality of customer records Protecting against anticipated threats or hazards to the security of customer information
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)	Internal controls over financial reporting Security measures for protecting electronic financial records Procedures for regular auditing of financial data security
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)	Secure processing and storage of cardholder data Maintaining a secure network for transaction processing Regular testing and monitoring of network security
FDA Regulations for Cybersecurity in Medical Devices	Ensuring medical devices are free from cybersecurity threats Regular updates and patches to medical device software Monitoring and reporting cybersecurity incidents involving medical devices
North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP)	Protection of critical cyber assets in the energy sector Security management controls for accessing critical cyber assets Incident reporting and recovery plans for cyber threats
American Petroleum Institute (API)	Securing oil and gas operations from cyber threats Protecting data integrity in exploration and production operations Cybersecurity measures for operational technology systems
Maritime Transportation Security Act	Security plans for offshore oil and gas facilities Preventing unauthorized access to sensitive maritime facilities Regular assessments of cybersecurity risks in maritime operations
NIST SP 800-171	Protecting controlled unclassified information in non-federal systems Ensuring the security of sensitive government data held by contractors Regular assessments of information systems for compliance
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)	Protection of aviation control systems from cyber threats Incident response and recovery in aviation cybersecurity
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS)	Safeguarding defense information on contractor systems Reporting cyber incidents that affect defense information
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)	Meeting various cybersecurity maturity levels for DoD contracts Implementing layered cybersecurity practices and processes Regular assessments to certify the maturity level of cybersecurity practices

Risk Management

A vCISO enhances your organization’s risk management by performing comprehensive assessments that align with compliance demands. These assessments involve a detailed examination of your environment through questionnaires and scans to establish a clear view of your current cyber risk levels.

Armed with this knowledge, a vCISO crafts a plan to fortify your defenses, ensuring continuous improvement and adherence to compliance standards. This ongoing risk management process is pivotal for an organization’s resilience.

Continuous Monitoring

Through ongoing monitoring, a vCISO ensures your organization’s compliance is actively maintained. This continuous oversight includes regular reviews and updates to cybersecurity measures as new compliance standards emerge or your business model evolves.

They analyze trends, track changes, and adjust your security posture in real-time. Therefore, when a new change emerges, you’re already prepared.

Advanced Threat Intelligence

vCISO services provide you with advanced security experts who are well-versed in the current threat landscape. This advantage will help you adapt to evolving tactics. 79% of business executives make cybersecurity decisions without adversary insights. Doing so puts you at risk of implementing ineffective measures against these increasingly sophisticated threats.

Security Posture Reporting

A vCISO empowers your organization with detailed cybersecurity posture reports, which are essential for maintaining compliance. These reports offer a comprehensive view of your current cybersecurity state, highlighting areas of strong performance and identifying where improvements are needed.

These reports benchmark your security practices against industry standards, providing a clear picture of how you measure up.This data gives you actionable insights that guide your strategy to close any compliance gaps.

 

Get More Cyber Insights For Highly Regulated Industries What Legal Professionals Need to Know About Cybersecurity For Law Firms What You Should Know About Healthcare Cybersecurity Why Proper Cybersecurity For Financial Institutions is Crucial

 

Boost Your Organization’s Security & Compliance With a Military-Grade vCISO

While a lot of the general practices of a virtual CISO or vCISO will help you uphold and enhance your compliance standards, it’s hard to truly meet the regulations you need to meet if your partner doesn’t understand them. That’s why you need to choose a vCISO provider with in-depth knowledge of your industry’s regulatory requirements.

Redpoint Cybersecurity’s team of security experts has extensive experience in:

• Healthcare
• Finance
• Aerospace
• Energy
• Oil & Gas
• Defense
• Law

That means we’re more than capable of working with your cybersecurity leadership to develop, improve, and uphold policies that keep you in compliance with all relevant standards in these industries.

If you need that kind of help, reach out to us today.