Compliance and security are two pillars upon which businesses base their operational and strategic decisions. However, prioritizing one at the expense of the other may lead to vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in your organization. Businesses that approach compliance with a security-first mindset are better positioned for the evolving threat landscape. 

This post explores why compliance does not take the place of security, how the two differ and why you need to always adopt a security-first mindset.  

The gap between compliance and security 

Equating compliance with security is a common misconception that can lead to a false sense of security among organizations. Compliance involves adhering to a set of standards or regulations designed by governments or industry bodies, whereas security is about protecting information and systems from threats and breaches.

Common Compliance standards and frameworks, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS, are designed to provide a baseline of protection for data and information systems. They serve as a checklist of the minimum requirements that businesses must meet in order to protect data and ensure customer privacy.  

However, meeting compliance standards does not necessarily mean your company is more secure and being compliant alone is a poor substitute for comprehensive cybersecurity measures.  By solely focusing on meeting these standards, many may overlook emerging threats that can lead to a failure in implementing other robust security practices beyond the minimum requirements. 

Factors that contribute to the gap between compliance and actual security include: 

Compliance is a baseline, not a ceiling 

Minimum requirements 

Compliance standards often represent the minimum data security requirements, but they may not cover all the potential vulnerabilities or emerging threats that a company faces, such as data breaches and cyber attacks, email phishing, insider threats, cloud security breaches, supply chain attacks, etc.and many other yet to be discovered hacks.   

Static and quickly out of date

While compliance standards are updated periodically, they can’t always keep pace with the rapidly evolving threat landscape. As a result, businesses meeting current standards are still vulnerable to new and more sophisticated attacks. 

Checklist mentality 

Box-ticking approach

It’s easy to adopt a checklist mentality, focusing on meeting specific compliance requirements without totally understanding the underlying security principles. This approach can lead to serious gaps in security posture, leaving you open to cyberattack. 

False sense of security

Believing that compliance alone is sufficient for security can make you complacent, underestimating the need for continuous monitoring, constant vigilance and improvement of security practices across the entire enterprise. 

Compliance standards limited in scope 

Specific requirements 

Compliance frameworks often focus on particular areas, such as data protection or network security, and don’t always address other critical aspects of cybersecurity like social engineering attacks, or password reuse, for example. 

One size doesn’t fit All 

Compliance standards often apply to a broad range of businesses. As a result, they might not fully address the unique security needs and risk profiles of your particular marketplace. 

Dynamic threat landscape 

Evolving threats

Cyber threats are continually evolving, with attackers developing new techniques and exploiting novel vulnerabilities. Compliance standards cannot always anticipate or adapt to these changes quickly enough. 

Insufficient defense against Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)

Compliance measures may not be sufficient to defend against Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs, which involve sophisticated stealth attackers targeting specific companies for extended periods of time. 

Frameworks don’t account for the human factor 

Insider threats

Compliance frameworks can mandate controls to mitigate insider threats, but they cannot eliminate the risk posed by malicious or negligent insiders. Operation risk is a major contributor to cybersecurity breaches.  

Training and Awareness

While implementing compliance standards may require some security training for employees, the effectiveness of this training in changing employee behavior and awareness can vary significantly between companies. Rolling out additional cybersecurity training for your employees to mitigate threats against social engineering and other common threats such as email phishing and social engineering is critical for the safety of your company.  

Technological limitations and dependence 

Reliance on legacy Systems

Businesses often rely on legacy systems that may not fully support modern security controls, making full compliance challenging while leaving security gaps. 

Technological changes

The rapid pace of technological innovation can outstrip the guidelines set by compliance frameworks, leaving many vulnerable to exploitation through new technologies. 

Resource Constraints 

Financial and operational limitations

Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the financial and operational resources required to go beyond compliance and implement advanced security measures can be prohibitive. 

Adopting a security-first mindset to meet compliance regulations 

To truly secure both operations and data, businesses need to implement a holistic and dynamic approach to cybersecurity. This involves continuous risk assessment, staying abreast of the latest cybersecurity trends and threats, investing in advanced security technologies, and fostering a culture of security awareness. View compliance as the starting point, and not the end goal, of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. 

Companies must recognize the dynamic nature of security threats and the importance of going beyond compliance to implement robust security measures. As IT environments become increasingly complex and the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, the distinction between compliance and security becomes more critical. Prioritizing security, ensures that you meet compliance requirements and also establishes a strong defense against the myriad of cyber threats faced today. 

Implement security measures to meet compliance 

Adopting a security-first mindset does not mean ignoring compliance. Instead, it means that companies need to prioritize security around the compliance requirements to meet their business needs.  Questions you can ask yourselves when implementing security around compliance are: 

• What business are we in? 
• What exactly are we trying to protect and how do we go about it? 
• How can we tell what’s happening in our environment? 
• What constitutes a bad actor in our environment? How do we detect one? 
• How do we respond when we find a bad actor or we’ve been hacked? 
• How will we know if the boundaries we’ve put in place are actually working? 

Shifting the focus to security ensures you are compliant with current regulations and are well-positioned to adapt to new standards and emerging threats. A security-first approach includes continuous risk assessment, and additional employee training. Companies who adopt this approach also invest in advanced security technologies, and the development of incident response plans. 

Final Thoughts 

In this rapidly evolving digital landscape, security cannot be an afterthought or merely a checkbox to achieve compliance. Compliance is essential for meeting legal and regulatory obligations. However, it should not be the sole focus of your IT cybersecurity strategy. By adopting a security-first mindset, your company can build resilient systems that protect against current and future threats. Also, this mindset ensures the safety of your data and the trust of your customers. 

Need help with compliance and security? 

With Horn IT’s services and solutions, you’re choosing a partner dedicated to driving your business forward while meeting compliance regulations securely. From advanced cybersecurity to strategic guidance, rapid support, and cost-effective solutions, our comprehensive approach to IT services and solutions can empower your success.    

Contact Horn IT today to explore how we can elevate your business.