In the United States, the lack of any single, overarching cloud compliance law complicates the matter. Businesses must stay on top of a patchwork of federal and state laws, applicable international laws, and industry-specific regulations. This guide will help streamline the process.

Understanding the Shared Responsibility Model

Business leaders must remember that cloud compliance involves a shared responsibility between the cloud service provider and the customer. Under this shared responsibility model, cloud providers take responsibility for securing the underlying infrastructure, while the customer secures the data and workloads that live in the cloud.

For example, Microsoft secures its data centers and implements robust security around the hardware and networking equipment that supports Microsoft 365 services. It employs some encryption, provides continuous monitoring of the platform, and releases security patches for its applications.

Microsoft customers, on the other hand, must configure the Microsoft 365 security options properly and apply patches promptly. Additionally, they need to take steps to track and protect sensitive data. They must also secure user accounts and control data access. And they need to identify and protect endpoints that include every device that connects to the network.

Major Regulations to Consider

Organizations may need to comply with any number of privacy regulations, depending on their location and industry. But several key regulations apply widely and/or set the tone for other regulations. Understanding these landmark regulations will help organizations build an overall compliance strategy.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while a European law, still applies to many US businesses, and it serves as a model for many emerging regulations here in the States.

Key requirements of GDPR include the requirement to gain clear consent before processing personal data. Individuals also have the right to access their personal data or request a transfer of that data. And businesses must notify individuals promptly if a breach occurs.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the standard for protection of protected health information (PHI). It requires entities to implement stringent safeguards to protect PHI, including limiting PHI access to authorized personnel. It also requires organizations to encrypt PHI data, conduct regular risk assessments, and train employees.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mandates strict controls relating to financial data and applies to all public companies in the US. It includes stringent requirements around retention and destruction of financial records. It also requires companies to strengthen IT controls around financial systems and data. And it mandates audit trails and regular risk monitoring.

Several states model their privacy laws on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It grants consumers the right to access and correct their data that businesses collect. It also guarantees individuals the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal data, as well as to request deletion of their data. And businesses must take reasonable security measures.

Key Steps to Building a Compliant Cloud Environment

While each regulation has specific requirements, common themes run across regulations. Prioritizing those common elements will help businesses stay ahead of the compliance game.

• Data governance – Develop a comprehensive data governance framework that includes classifying and monitoring sensitive data, tightening access controls around that data, and implementing clear policies around data retention and data sharing.
• Vendor management – Review vendor contracts to ensure necessary language regarding data privacy and security. Additionally, carefully control vendor access and perform regular supply chain audits and monitoring.

• Incident response – Create, implement, and regularly update a plan for responding to data breaches, including mandated notifications.
• Continuous monitoring – Regularly monitor compliance status and make necessary adjustments. Automated compliance monitoring streamlines this process.
• Ensure consumer control over personal data – Display privacy policies clearly on public-facing apps and websites. Include easy-to-use forms for consumers to specify their preferences regarding sharing of personal information, targeted advertising, and cookies.
• Ensure reasonable security measures – In addition to measures already mentioned, implement encryption, strong authentication methods, role-based access controls, and comprehensive network security. Deliver regular employee training around security and compliance.

Additional Tips Round Out the Ultimate Guide to Cloud Compliance

Compliance concerns require substantial time, resources, and energy. However, by wisely leveraging compliance technology such as the compliance solutions from eGovernance.com, businesses can reduce much of the pain involved in regulatory compliance.

eGovernance Compliance allows you to tackle all data compliance monitoring mandates simultaneously, including HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, SOX, PCI-DSS, and more. It gives wide visibility by connecting to all data storage locations through a single console. It also simplifies data classification, aids access control, and provides automated alerts to possible problems.

Take a proactive approach to regulatory compliance by contacting the compliance experts at eMazzanti Technologies.

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Improved Analytics and Automation Strengthen Compliance Efforts

Through analytics and automation, AI proves a game-changer for regulatory compliance. For instance, in a constantly evolving compliance landscape, organizations struggle to keep track of regulatory changes.

AI-enhanced tools bring the ability to analyze large and diverse data sets such as industry regulations, privacy laws, internal policies, and contracts. Using natural language understanding and semantic analysis, AI can help organizations identify relevant regulations and map their internal policies and procedures accordingly.

Additionally, AI allows the automation of tedious tasks such as data collection and classification, reporting, and compliance monitoring. Automating these tasks improves both speed and accuracy. It also helps compliance officers find and track data on multiple platforms throughout the organization.

Unique Risks Necessitate Updated Strategies

However, AI also poses new compliance challenges that require a proactive approach. In the first place, AI and machine learning rely on large amounts of training data. To avoid bias and ensure effective decision-making, companies must ensure these systems have access to accurate, complete, and relevant information.

At the same time, the data used for AI training models may contain sensitive or personal information. Organizations need to adjust policies and procedures around data collection, storage, and use to make sure sensitive data remains compliant.

The rise of AI also introduces new cyber security risks. AI-powered cyber-attacks greatly increase the risk of successful phishing attempts and data breaches. To demonstrate compliance, companies must be able to show that they have implemented appropriate security measures to counter these evolving threats.

Finally, compliance requires transparency and accountability. While automation delivers key benefits, it requires human oversight. Organizations will need to disclose their use of AI systems. They must also be able to explain the logic, methods, and limitations of their AI systems to outside regulators.

Best Practices for Effectively Managing AI and Compliance

To leverage the benefits of AI while providing data security and transparency, businesses should adopt a holistic approach. For example, they should:

• Strengthen information governance with AI in mind – Effective AI depends on huge amounts of high-quality data. More than ever, businesses must know where their data lives and what their data contains. And they must carefully control AI access to data based on sensitivity and regulatory requirements.
• Adjust cyber security policies and procedures as necessary – Cyber security strategies need to account for emerging AI-powered cyber threats such as deepfakes. Additionally, security teams must guard against threat actors that attempt to manipulate AI algorithms and corrupt the data that feed them.

• Implement regular audits and compliance monitoring – Regularly audit AI systems for potential vulnerabilities. This may include adjusting algorithms to accommodate regulatory requirements. Continuous compliance monitoring should include policies specific to data usage for AI.
• Provide robust training – Businesses should provide effective training to staff on the principles, practices, and implications of AI projects. For instance, employees need to understand the potential for bias and other ethical issues. And they need to understand how to recognize and remedy potential problems with AI systems.

Build a Comprehensive and Agile Data Compliance Strategy

AI introduces new vistas in a constantly changing data environment. For compliance, it presents a double-edged sword. On the one hand, AI can streamline compliance efforts and allow organizations to effectively manage and monitor data at scale. On the other hand, AI introduces increased security risks and complicates compliance efforts.

eGovernance compliance solutions provide critical data visibility and control throughout the organization. They simplify data classification and compliance monitoring and provide critical transparency. Combined with comprehensive data security from eMazzanti, eGovernance delivers the peace of mind businesses need.

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No matter how skilled, humans alone cannot effectively track, manage, and analyze massive stores of data to achieve compliance. Fortunately, continually evolving compliance technology fills the gap.

These intelligent compliance technologies deliver key benefits by automating processes, helping companies stay updated with regulatory changes and providing continuous monitoring. Powerful risk assessment tools can also identify and prioritize potential risks early, proactively applying necessary remediation measures.

Compliance Challenges Can Prove Costly

Organizations in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, need to know where sensitive data lives and who has access to it. However, finding that data can prove difficult when it is stored across multiple platforms and storage locations. For instance, most organizations use a mix of on-premises and cloud environments, with potentially thousands of connected devices.

To successfully monitor sensitive information in this complex environment, data stewards need to classify the data. With huge amounts of data being created each day, manually locating and tagging sensitive data presents an insurmountable challenge. Organizations need a way to simplify the process and reduce the chance for human error.

Despite the challenges involved, non-compliance can result in significant consequences, including stiff fines and lost customers. Thus, compliance teams must have early notification of potential compliance issues. They also require the ability to clearly demonstrate compliance in case of an audit.

Automate Processes with AI

Because artificial intelligence (AI) can rapidly process massive amounts of data, it has become a critical component of compliance technology. AI tools save time, reduce errors, and enable early response by automating routine processes and analyzing data to highlight trends.

For instance, automating processes such as data classification and managing retention policies frees up resources and limits errors. Using pattern matching technology, AI tools can automatically recognize and tag sensitive data such as credit card information. Machine learning even allows tools to learn to identify certain types of information based on provided examples.

AI can also take the guesswork out of incorporating regulatory changes by helping organizations discover and interpret new regulations and updates. And AI tools can suggest necessary changes to policies and workflows.

Streamline Audits and Remediation

Compliance technology and AI play a key role in risk management. By automating compliance and security monitoring and analyzing patterns, advanced tools identify risks early. They then automatically send customized alerts to the right people.

For example, intelligent compliance tools deliver critical visibility into data across platforms. Once the system identifies sensitive data in unacceptable locations, it can easily remove or quarantine the information. Customizable reports demonstrate compliance and ensure that auditors and compliance officers receive the information they need daily.

eGovernance Delivers the Benefits of Compliance Technology

Tools like eGovernance provide organizations with the ability to view and manage sensitive data either manually or automatically from a single web portal. This includes streamlined data classification, automatic reports, and the ability to easily review and adjust access rights.

In addition, organizations can conduct internal investigations using powerful search capabilities. Because they can search all sources simultaneously, these digital compliance solutions allow auditors to drill down into specific compliance issues with no outsourcing.

Contact the information governance experts at eGovernance to achieve lower costs and reduced risk. They’ll help your compliance team simplify the process of achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance.

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The post Reduced Risk and Lower Costs Highlight the Benefits of Compliance Technology appeared first on eGovernance.