Keeping your network protected is one thing, but you also want to understand the importance of compliance, regardless of your industry. Compliance network security means aligning your cybersecurity practices with industry-specific regulatory and legal standards. Common examples you’ll hear about in the realm of network security are HIPAA, FERPA, and PCI-DSS.
They’re a crucial aspect of protecting your company’s sensitive data, as well as avoiding potential legal penalties. Customers are also looking for this, so it’s a necessity that benefits everyone on all sides.
You’ll also find that every industry comes with unique compliance requirements of its own. From encryption requirements to audits and access controls, compliance isn’t something you should overlook. This article focuses on compliance network security and the standards you need to uphold by regulation, law, and your own business security standards.
Key Compliance Regulations by Industry
Between HIPAA history and many other common regulations, it’s rather easy to understand why they exist. Whereas HIPAA was created for the healthcare industry, others like GDPR and CCPA focus more on data integrity, user privacy, and overall transparency.
Nevertheless, getting a better look at industry-specific regulations and cyber laws is essential for any business owner. Even if they aren’t entirely relevant to your industry, you want to know where your business lands in this topic to properly navigate down the road.
Healthcare (HIPAA)
The acronym, spelled out, stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. With a focus on patient health information, it’s a mandate for strict data access controls, encryption, and regular security audits.
Thankfully, modern firewalls help to enforce network segmentation for isolating systems that handle electronic protected health information (ePHI). Firewall hardware can restrict inbound and outbound traffic, promising a clean network that prevents unauthorized access. It’s your audit logs from firewalls that help your business remain compliant with HIPAA’s reporting requirements.
Education (FERPA)
This regulation stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. As you might assume, students would like to know that their information is being protected. FERPA is in place to protect student records, with the requirement that educational institutions control data access.
Considering the adoption of cloud environments and more digital tools, this regulation is more important than ever before. With the right firewall hardware, authorized access can be kept under control. In this case, it’s the log management that can ensure businesses in education pass compliance audits and incident investigations.
Finance (GLBA and PCI-DSS)
Widely relevant to the world of finance, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) are equally important. Both regulate how financial institutions should handle and protect consumer data.
This is a big one considering it deals with people’s finances, and both demand that network segmentation be a part of the process. This separates public networks from things like cardholder data and internal financial systems.
General Business Compliance
Aside from industry-specific examples, there are several general regulations that apply to everyone. This includes both national and international regulations that can span from the US to the EU, all the way down to individual states. The list below offers a more detailed breakdown of several notable examples.
- GDPR: Established by the EU, the aim here is to simply protect the personal data and privacy of individuals. This is a global regulation for any company that collects or processes personal data of people in the EU.
- CCPA: This is a specific regulation that comes out of California. It’s a state-wide data privacy law that gives consumers control over aspects of their personal information.
- SOX: Pertaining to a US federal law from 2002, it helps to improve the accuracy and reliability of financial disclosures. These disclosures are relevant to US public company boards and accounting firms, for example.
Compliance with network security measures can definitely be a complex topic. Then again, there are plenty of next-gen firewall solutions, best practices, and policies you can put in place to stay on top of things.
The Bottom Line
If you want to successfully enforce access control, you’re going to want to look into firewall hardware. Remaining compliant within your region and industry requires consistent effort. Although firewalls can help, it’s up to business owners to stay on top of shifting laws and regulations around network security.
Ensuring your firewalls and security architecture are up to date is a part of this process as well. That means transitioning your tech when needed, in addition to proactive monitoring and internal audits on a regular schedule. Learn more about compliance network security and what this means for your business by giving us a call to get started on the right track.
FAQ
Why is Compliance Network Security Important for Businesses?
It works to protect sensitive data and also helps to avoid the potential for legal penalties. Compliance also helps to build long-term trust with customers by meeting industry-specific requirements.
How do Firewalls Support HIPAA and PCI-DSS Compliance?
They enforce access controls, monitor network traffic, and provide highly detailed logs. This translates to meeting HIPAA and PCI-DSS requirements for data protection and auditing.
Why is Network Segmentation Important for Compliance?
Network segmentation works to isolate sensitive data and internal systems, which reduces the potential for unauthorized access.
Can Cloud-Managed Firewalls Improve Compliance With Regulations?
Cloud-managed firewalls are great at offering centralized visibility, remote management, and automated updates. This can make it easier to maintain consistent compliance over time.
