Is Your Business Compliant? Cybersecurity Requirements by Industry
There are many reasons why your business should be taking steps to improve its security in the face of growing cybersecurity threats. Successful attacks and cyberattacks can do untold damage to businesses, and no business, no matter how big or how small, is safe from this threat.
When improving your approach to cybersecurity, it’s also vital to take into consideration the particular requirements that are present in the industry in which your business operates. Here are some of the key cybersecurity requirements to be aware of by industry.
The Healthcare Industry
The healthcare industry and its requirements regarding cybersecurity are overseen by HIPPA. They focus on securing patient data and its confidentiality. Federal privacy protections for individually identifiable health information are in place, and these standards are nationally enforced. These standards not only apply to medical organizations but also the other third party service providers and insurance companies that work with them.
The Retail Industry
The retail sector has its own regulatory body that dictates the cybersecurity measures businesses need to have in place, although it’s not regulated federally like the healthcare industry is. Instead, the Payment Card Industry Security Council sets out data security standards, with a focus on processing payments and payment card data held by retail businesses.
Contractors for the Department of Defense
When contractors sign up to work with the U.S. Department of Defense, they have to meet certain cybersecurity requirements as a condition of the agreement. Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI) set out these requirements, and prove has to be provided that those standards being met before work begins. This is especially important for your managed service provider to have the right IT compliance for your industry.
The Financial Services Sector
There are both federal and state regulators that oversee the cybersecurity requirements for businesses in the financial services sector. The Federal Financial Institution Examination Council handbook outlines these requirements in detail and they cover all aspects of holding financially sensitive data in a secure and responsible manner. Within that handbook are niche guidelines for businesses operating within particular areas of the financial services sector too.
The Insurance Industry
There’s no one regulatory body that dictates the cybersecurity requirements for businesses in the insurance industry. But there are various state regulators that set out similar guidelines for businesses to follow. Regulations in this sector are growing, with the Department of Financial Services in New York State delivering new regulations for insurance companies in recent years.
The Energy Sector
Federal regulations regarding cybersecurity measures for energy companies are delivered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. These apply to eclectic companies and the regulations that bind these companies are called Critical Infrastructure Protection Standards.
Getting your approach to cybersecurity is right, but as this article demonstrates, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that you can take. It’s vital to get the fundamentals right while also tailoring your approach to the requirements outlined by industry regulators, dictated by the specific threats particular to your industry.
