Compliance should be a culture, not just a certificate!

We've recently discussed compliance standards, ensuring your business meets them and how Economit can help to safeguard your business. InfoSec compliance means ensuring business activities align with relevant regulations and legislation - specifically privacy and security requirements, guidelines, and best practices. 

One common misconception is that once you've checked off compliance tasks or received a certificate, the job is done. However, compliance goes far beyond merely obtaining a certificate. Organisations must incorporate compliance policies and best practices into their everyday procedures, systems, tools, and people to achieve a compliance culture. It's about fostering a culture where risk management and security are woven into the fabric of daily processes rather than treating compliance as a one-off checklist chore.  

By embedding compliance into the core of your operations, businesses can reap far greater benefits than just meeting regulatory requirements. A culture of compliance promotes safer working practices, reduces risk, and fosters a proactive approach to protecting the business and its customers. Ultimately, compliance should be seen as an ongoing commitment to operational excellence and security, not merely a piece of paper. 

In the digital era, IT, information security and compliance are inseparable. With businesses managing ever-growing volumes of data, adherence to regulations isn't just important, it's essential. The consequences of non-compliance can be severe, leading to system vulnerabilities, hefty fines, and irreparable reputational damage and embarrassment. This underscores the urgency of maintaining a robust IT compliance culture. 

According to the UK Business Data Survey 2024*, almost all (99%) businesses with at least ten employees handled digitised data. Yet, of the firms that employ staff and handle digitised personal data, only 56% have someone in their organisation whose role includes responsibility for information security and data protection compliance. Information and cyber security are (quite rightly) keeping executives up at night because no organisation is infallible – without exception. However, tight controls and regimented processes focusing on risk and mitigation should help to get a good night's sleep. 

In the complex landscape of cyber security, threats, and defensive products, the need for reliable, independent, and impartial strategic advice is paramount. Our team of highly accredited and certified IT and InfoSec professionals, with their extensive knowledge and experience, can provide the support you need to implement effective compliance correctly. Businesses we work with gain true value by doing so – not just a certificate, and furthermore, we do so efficiently without generating an unnecessary burden on the workload of already business staff. 

If you lack in-house qualified resources and seek to enhance your information technology and cybersecurity compliance approach, we are here to help. Our in-house team of experts can assist you in building a robust programme and guide you through the implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement needed to achieve the highest standards in compliance.  

Navigating information technology, information security and associated compliance standards is more challenging now than ever. This article explains how Economit's guidance and solutions can ensure your business meets all the necessary compliance standards. 

Economit is an independent consultancy specialising in Information Technology and compliance services, with a focus on Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Protection. We offer a wide range of compliance and consulting services, including: 

• Fractional CIO, CISO, and DPO services 

• Implementation and internal audits for multiple ISO standards 

• AI consulting and Cyber Essentials implementation 

• PCI-DSS compliance   

*The UK Business Data Survey (UKBDS) 2024 is an official statistics publication - UK Business Data Survey 2024 GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)