People in today’s world are increasingly concerned about cyberattacks. One of the reasons for their worry is that online criminals don’t only affect their targets. A successful hack typically has a ripple effect that can harm anyone associated with the impacted entity. However, taking cybersecurity seriously can help your business, especially if you decide to comply with a well-known framework.
Compliance Could Result in Government Contracts
Maybe you have your sights set on receiving a contract to work for the government. Such arrangements are often lucrative and provide the associated companies with ongoing profits.
However, certain government agencies understandably have stringent cybersecurity requirements. For example, candidates can use a NIST 800 171 assessment tool to score their current security plan and convey the results to the department of defense. Government officials take the results of security assessments into account when deciding whether to award contracts to the relevant parties. In other words, it’s no longer sufficient to prove to a potential government client that you have the expertise or resources to meet specific needs. You also must show that your company follows best cybersecurity practices and has achieved a minimum level of system security maturity, too.
In today’s ever-challenging marketplace, it’s crucial to stand out from competitors. One way to do that while building trust in potential clients is to receive security certifications or follow well-established frameworks.
Compliance Encourages Customer Trust
You can think of compliance as something similar to a credit score in today’s digital, data-driven world. A high credit score establishes your reliability, particularly when applying for a loan or engaging in another activity that requires another party to measure the level of risk you pose.
No matter what kind of company you have or which products or services you offer, you almost certainly operate parts of your business online. People know that doing something as simple as sending you an email means they’re giving you data that you’ll store and perhaps use for authorized reasons later.
If people go on your website and see information about cybersecurity compliance, that’s a strong indicator that they can do business with you and feel confident about the relationship. While becoming compliant is not a guarantee of trouble-free operations, it shows that people at your company know the best practices for avoiding breaches and other unwanted events orchestrated by online criminals.
Compliance Helps Create a Strong Cybersecurity Culture
Staying safe from cyberattacks is not the responsibility of a single person. Rather, it’s a collective effort carried out by everyone at an organization, even if an individual’s role does not directly relate to the internet or security. Another benefit of becoming compliant is that it positions online safety as everyone’s duty.
For example, if a person receives cybersecurity training, they’ll gain the confidence to know that they understand direct actions that can prevent attacks. They’ll also become aware of some of the tricks hackers often play to win the trust of their eventual victims. A company can only earn compliance once everyone at the organization plays a part in helping it happen.
That means a company’s team can become more tight-knit and collaborative once a business takes the necessary steps to prove compliance. When that happens, employees could become more productive in all areas of their work, including and beyond cybersecurity. They’ll also likely have a greater sense that even the most seemingly small actions have major impacts. That realization should boost morale.
Working towards cybersecurity compliance is not the right choice for every company, and you might not be at the stage where it’s appropriate to pursue yet. But, in any case, this overview should provide valuable food for thought about whether it’s worth considering at some point in the near future.
