IT compliance intelligence combines technology and threat intelligence to help organizations achieve compliance. By leveraging automation and data analysis, organizations can ensure their IT systems meet all the necessary regulatory standards, such as HIPAA, GDPR, NIS2, and others.
IT Compliance Intelligence: An Overview
What is IT compliance intelligence?
IT compliance intelligence involves technology and data analysis to ensure an organization’s IT systems meet regulatory and industry requirements. Failure to comply can cause serious consequences such as fines, data breaches, and legal repercussions.
Threat intelligence is often used for two tasks: maintaining repair operations after a cyberattack and monitoring for unknown data leaks. Intelligence is gathered by monitoring the clear and dark web for signs of data leaks.
Without proper monitoring, organizations become more vulnerable to threats. However, solutions that offer actionable alerts, proactively detect data leaks, and assist in risk remediation can significantly benefit organizations.
Why is IT compliance important?
Compliance may be viewed as a burden, but it offers a strategic advantage. Regulations, internal policies, and industry standards exist to protect individuals’ personal data.
Adhering to relevant standards protects organizations from the financial and reputational damage of cyberattacks. Ultimately, IT compliance aligns with business goals and aids with continued operations in the event of a breach.
Common IT compliance standards
Many compliance standards exist but not all will apply to every organization. Compliance will depend on factors like industry and geographical location. Regulatory and industry standards can change over time, so it is important to keep track of any new updates.
Here are a few common regulations:
- GDPR (General Data Privacy Regulation): Regulatory rules concerning the processing of personal data of individuals in the European Union.
- PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard): These are industry security standards for organizations that manage credit card information.
- HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): U.S. regulations designed to protect sensitive patient information handled by healthcare-related organizations.
- NIS2 (Network and Information Security Directive 2): A European Union directive that sets cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure and other essential services.
What is the Future of IT Compliance Intelligence?
New threats and vulnerabilities threaten the safety of systems and data governance, and governments need assurance that organizations are taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves.
AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) will have a significant impact on improving threat intelligence and compliance management. Emerging technologies will help automate tasks and enable real-time detection. AI-driven solutions can allow security teams to focus on high-priority risks by freeing up time previously spent on manual tasks.
Challenges of IT compliance intelligence
Part of staying compliant is keeping up with the latest trends and emerging cyber threats. Security teams must be aware of these threats and have solutions in place to stay ahead of bad actors. Additionally, they should remain updated on changing regulations, which can vary significantly across different jurisdictions.
A few other things that can make IT compliance intelligence difficult include:
- Technological changes: The adoption of AI-driven tools has risen, but it also poses new questions about how it can work effectively, gather relevant threat intelligence, and ensure compliance.
- Lack of visibility: Modern IT environments consist of diverse systems, third-party providers, cloud servers, and applications. It’s difficult to achieve real-time visibility which is crucial for finding noncompliance.
- Integration with other tools: Integrating new monitoring and compliance tools into legacy systems can be complex.
How do organizations ensure IT compliance?
Numerous challenges can affect an organization’s ability to stay compliant. However, implementing best practices and using relevant tools can help manage an organization’s systems. A comprehensive approach will include monitoring, identifying vulnerabilities, and remediating issues.
Some key components to ensure IT compliance include:
- Gathering threat intelligence: Relevant data can help identify risks before bad actors exploit them.
- Regular scans: Organizations should scan systems for vulnerabilities. It’s also important to scan the dark web for data leaks that could indicate a security breach.
- Consistent patching: Keep systems updated by testing new patches and deploying them when they are effective.
- Conduct compliance audits: Regular compliance audits and risk assessments can help identify security gaps in infrastructure or policies.
- Review regulations: Stay updated on regulations and adjust company policies as necessary.
- Implement security measures: Make any changes necessary to ensure compliance which may include access control, MFA, and encryption.
- Provide employee training: All employees should receive training and security awareness on safely handling sensitive data and preventing data leaks.
- Develop incident response plans: Foster a culture of preparedness by creating an incident response plan if a breach occurs.
Flare and IT Compliance Intelligence
Why do security teams choose Flare for IT compliance intelligence?
Traditional manual monitoring often takes hours as teams search ransomware sites, dark web chatter, and other relevant sources. Leveraging AI and threat intelligence can automate the research process and notify an organization of potential threats.
Let’s take a look at this success story. Helicopter Engine Repair Overhaul Services, Inc. (H.E.R.O.S. Inc.) quickly contained a ransomware attack, but there was a possibility that the threat actors extracted sensitive information. To understand the full scope of the damage, the organization relied on dark web monitoring for threat intelligence.
However, manual searches for potentially stolen files took hours and required a specialized skillset. H.E.R.O.S. decided to adopt the Flare Threat Exposure Management (TEM) solution to automate the monitoring process.
Flare was easily integrated into its current security system and informed the organization of potential data leaks. The smooth transition enabled a more efficient, informed, and proactive security program.
What do you get with Flare’s threat intelligence platform?
- Data leak prevention: Monitor the clear and dark web for stolen information.
- Data breach recovery: Maintain repair operations by searching for leaked stolen files on the clear and dark web.
- Compliance: Ensure your organization is complying with regulatory and industry standards.
- Actionable reports: Well-written reports clearly show the identified threats and actionable steps to remediate the issues.
- Less noise: Receive immediate and relevant alerts about potential threats.
IT Compliance Risk Reduction with Flare
The Flare Threat Exposure Management (TEM) solution empowers organizations to proactively detect, prioritize, and mitigate the types of exposures commonly exploited by threat actors. Our platform automatically scans the clear & dark web and prominent threat actor communities 24/7 to discover unknown events, prioritize risks, and deliver actionable intelligence you can use instantly to improve security. Flare is a valuable tool to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and data breach recovery.
Flare integrates into your security program in 30 minutes and often replaces several SaaS and open source tools. Learn more by signing up for our free trial.
