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The National Security Division (NSD) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Final Rule announcing a new Data Security Program (DSP) under Executive Order 14117: Preventing Access To Americans' Bulk Sensitive Personal Data And United States Government-Related Data By Countries Of Concern. Focused on protecting “covered data” transactions, the goal of the DOJ’s Final Rule is clear—prevent access to U.S government-related data and Americans’ sensitive personal data from:

In cybersecurity, identifying and assessing vulnerable services is essential for effectively protecting an organization’s security stance. Two crucial elements that influence service security are protocols and ports.

Adhering to a single security framework alone is likely no longer sufficient for providing the protection and assurance needed for today’s complex and evolving security and compliance landscape. Whether prospects and customers are demanding different assurances, you’ve adopted new technologies that warrant particular controls, or you’re trying to break into a new market that features its own specific compliance as a prerequisite, it's common for your organization to be on the hook for multiple assessments.

Opting for a readiness assessment ahead of your SOC 2 examination is—while optional—a beneficial extra step when seeking compliance. Do you remember taking a practice test while preparing for an exam in school? Such a move could never hurt your chances of success. That being said, there are some things you should understand ahead of your readiness assessment that can help demystify your experience.

Whether you’ve already completed your first audit or you’re planning your compliance calendar for the new year, you know that compliance is more than a bullet point on a strategy slide deck—it’s a serious investment and a process that will recur year-over-year, so you can’t drop the ball in between assessments, especially amidst an ever-evolving cyberthreat landscape. To help your organization remain safeguarded between your audit cycles, you should seek to strengthen and streamline your compliance—the good news is, there are ways to do that.

In the dynamic world of business, where compliance is becoming more important either as requested assurance from customers or a key market differentiator, more and more organizations are turning to assessment firms to help them communicate these advantages. And while some will always look at compliance in the most oversimplified, checkbox manner, many customers and regulators recognize good (and poor) quality of delivery.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Auditors. We’re an odd breed. “A necessary pain in the tuchus,” some may say. Admittedly, we’re not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, in our 20+ years of experience, we’ve seen the word “auditor” invite various visceral responses. To be sure, organizations aren’t always enthusiastic about inviting us assessors in to do the requisite checks, despite the benefits of doing so (and despite being invited guests).