Gartner’s Critical Insights for External Attack Surface Management (EASM) Solutions
Most companies must meet some level of compliance for their industry, and information security is usually a critical component of that compliance. With more and more companies using cloud services, compliance and data protection regulations have only increased.
Regulatory Compliance over information and cybersecurity ensures consumer information remains private or data stays away from malicious actors. They typically apply to government agencies and medical offices but can extend to the other companies that contract with these organizations.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology provides best practices and guidelines for compliance among federal agencies. If your company meets the NIST guidelines, you’re compliant in several different categories, including HIPAA and FISMA.
Even if your organization is not required to meet these NIST guidelines for cybersecurity and customer protection, following these best practices ensures the safety of your online presence.
For example, in partnership with the ISO and IEC, NIST developed a cybersecurity framework of Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover for building a secure network to protect “an organization’s ability to innovate and to gain and maintain customers.”
The Federal Information Security Management Act requires government organizations to document their information security practices with an inventory, risk categorization, security plan, risk assessments, certifications, and other standards. These regulations apply not only to federal government agencies but also to any contractors working with the government, and now at the state and local government, as well.
Regulatory compliance with FISMA relies on the NIST Risk Management Framework for proper implementation.
When government agencies or their contracted private companies fail to comply, they risk reduction in funding, fines, and loss of future government work.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is far more common than NIST and FISMA since it applies to every health organization, as well as every Human Resource department.
But it goes beyond keeping patient health information confidential.
For medical offices and hospitals, every piece of communication needs to be encrypted and secured safely, relying heavily on fax systems or client dashboards to manage risk.
From a cybersecurity perspective, regulatory compliance with HIPAA usually means end-to-end security for phones and other communication. A compliance checklist includes applicable audits, analysis, documented deficiencies, remediation plans, appointing a designated Security Officer, and others.
For a private company looking to protect employee health information, you may want to review the checklist and offer more privacy than a locked filing cabinet.
While these regulations can seem like a hassle or inconvenience to establishing your organization, they save you money, time, and reputation in the long run. While nothing is completely secure (even the FBI servers are left open to the public sometimes), having these measures in place is the first step. In the case of HIPAA, they do ensure user privacy over information that can often lead to discrimination. NIST Guidelines are the first step towards the protection of elections and government information.
Even in highly regulated fields, attackers get in, and breaches occur through third- or nth-party vendors. Hackers may not target a large organization or government agency directly—they know those security practices are in place – so they go through a vendor with a lower level of compliance.
Through FISMA, private companies that work with government agencies must meet the same standards, but what about the vendors of those private companies, and then their vendors’ vendors? Compliance at the center of the attack surface does not guarantee the security of the entire sprawling landscape.
In order to properly assess vulnerabilities across the entire external attack surface, you need a clear map of your external attack surface. Cyberpion provides this clear picture and helps you meet the regulatory standards for detecting deficiencies and remediating those issues.
With a prioritized list of vulnerabilities, your team can quickly develop a security plan to resolve the missing components or cancel contracts with non-compliant entities.
By requiring a high level of security for yourself and your third-party vendors, your organization can create a ripple effect as the third party requires better security from their vendors, and so on, making each link in the supply chain stronger and more secure.
See the risks you’re exposed to with a vulnerability assessment.
