The Compliance Benefits of an Identity Resilience Strategy

In today's increasingly complex threat landscape, organizations face increasing pressure to comply with regulatory requirements to protect sensitive data. Depending on industry, a wide variety of compliance frameworks may be legally required or provide a competitive edge.  

With the complexity of compliance standards at issue, it’s important to evaluate and incorporate any relevant tools to support the effort. This is where identity resilience solutions can come in. From adhering to common compliance standards and frameworks to implementing robust controls, these solutions can help organizations strengthen their compliance posture and maintain continuous compliance.

Common Compliance Standards and Frameworks

Compliance standards and frameworks provide organizations with a roadmap for meeting regulatory requirements. They play a crucial role in ensuring that businesses adhere to industry-specific rules and regulations. By complying with these standards, organizations can protect sensitive information, maintain data privacy, and build trust with their customers.

PCI Compliance

One widely recognized compliance standard is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Developed by major credit card companies, PCI DSS sets guidelines for organizations that handle credit card information. It focuses on maintaining a secure environment for cardholder data, including requirements for network security, access control, and regular monitoring and testing.

HIPAA Compliance

In the USA healthcare industry, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a critical compliance framework. HIPAA establishes standards for protecting patients' medical records and other personal health information (PHI). It requires healthcare providers, insurance companies, and other covered entities to implement safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this sensitive data.

SOC 2 and ISO 27001 Compliance

SOC and ISO compliance – both considered stringent risk and security management frameworks – are commonly required to do business in high-risk industries. Though ISO and SOC have different approaches, organizations can use these standards to demonstrate their commitment to protecting sensitive data.  

Privacy Standards

One of the most well-known compliance standards is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Introduced by the European Union (EU), GDPR aims to protect the personal data of EU citizens. It outlines various requirements for organizations, such as obtaining consent for data processing, implementing robust security measures, and providing individuals with the right to access and delete their data. Since the introduction of GDPR, other regions have introduced similarly stringent privacy standards, such as California’s Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Compliance standards and frameworks are essential for organizations operating in regulated industries. They provide a roadmap for meeting regulatory requirements and help organizations protect sensitive information and ensure data privacy.  

Common Control Families within Compliance Standards

Each compliance standard requires the implementation of a set of controls that cover various areas. When it comes to security requirements, there are some common themes between the various standards. Here are some of the control families you may have to address:

Incident Response: As one of the most severe threats to your digital infrastructure, most compliance frameworks require a clear and tested incident response strategy. For most, this will include a backup requirement for your critical data and systems, such as your IAM environment.

Contingency Planning: Compliance frameworks have a vested interest in your ability to keep business running consistently and predictably. As such, business continuity and disaster recovery planning are often a requirement.  

Access Control: Especially when sensitive data is involved, compliance frameworks will include requirements to protect access to that data. To be compliant, organizations often have to demonstrate stringent controls around data and system access.  

Audit and Accountability: Most compliance frameworks require a system by which auditors can confirm your compliance. As such, many frameworks have audit and accountability controls, such as regular reporting and change logs for key systems.

Supply Chain Risk Management: Especially given today’s interconnected world, supply chain controls are a common requirement for various compliance standards. Organizations are often required to show their ability to persist in the event of a supply chain disruption.

The above are just a small sampling of the Control Families that often appear in various compliance frameworks. Most frameworks have specific requirements within each control family that differ widely. Achieving and maintaining compliance can be a daunting and time-consuming endeavor. Compliance and security professionals often seek the assistance of tools and experts to help accelerate the effort.  

The Compliance Benefit of Identity Resilience Solutions

While compliance with these standards may seem daunting, organizations can simplify the process by implementing identity resilience solutions. These solutions offer a comprehensive approach to compliance, providing organizations with the tools and resources they need to meet regulatory requirements.

Policies and Controls

Identity resilience solutions often come equipped with pre-configured policies and controls that align with industry best practices. These policies and controls address key compliance areas, such as data protection, access management, and incident response. By leveraging these pre-configured components, organizations can quickly establish a strong compliance foundation without having to build everything from scratch.

Furthermore, identity resilience solutions offer continuous monitoring and auditing capabilities. They enable organizations to track and analyze compliance-related activities in real-time, ensuring that any deviations or non-compliance issues are promptly identified and addressed. This proactive approach helps organizations stay ahead of potential compliance risks and maintain a robust security posture.

Backup and Recovery for Business Continuity

At a basic level, an identity resilience solution that provides a flexible backup and recovery for your IAM environment helps demonstrate your commitment to a business continuity strategy. But because most enterprise-level IAM systems are extremely complex, there are different methods for backup and recovery. For example, full system backups may be valuable in the event of an IdP outage but can take hours or days to implement. Partial backup and restores are often more conducive to faster disaster recovery.  

Data Storage Options for Data Security and Privacy

To remain compliant with most standards, secure data storage is of utmost importance. Identity resilience solutions that allow a “Bring-Your-Own-Storage” option (sometimes known as BYO Storage) can ensure your data is kept secure within your organization and does not unnecessarily change hands.  

Local, in-region storage is a requirement for many new privacy standards, such as GDPR. Identity resilience solutions that allow you to keep data in the relevant region may also be a consideration.  

Identity Resilience Tools for Continuous Compliance

Compliance is not a one-time endeavor but an ongoing commitment. Organizations must continuously monitor their compliance posture and proactively address any gaps or vulnerabilities that may arise. And as business activity requires constant change, continuous compliance requires frequent snapshots into an organization’s security posture.  

When it comes to continuous compliance, organizations must keep an eye out for pieces that fall out of place. In a best-case scenario, tech leaders need real-time visibility into user activities, enabling organizations to monitor access and detect any suspicious or non-compliant behaviors.

In some cases, identity resilience solutions can help organizations automate continuous compliance, reducing the burden on manual resources. Through automated alerts and change logs, organizations can identify patterns and trends that may indicate potential compliance risks. This proactive approach allows organizations to take corrective actions promptly, minimizing the impact of any compliance breaches.

Additionally, some identity resilience solutions offer robust reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to generate compliance reports and demonstrate their adherence to regulatory requirements. These reports provide a comprehensive overview of the organization's compliance status, highlighting areas of strength and areas that require improvement. By regularly reviewing these reports, organizations can identify areas for enhancement and allocate resources accordingly.

Identity Resilience Solutions as Compliance Tools

Overall, identity resilience solutions are essential for organizations looking to strengthen their compliance posture. By implementing identity resilience solutions, organizations can not only meet compliance standards but also enhance their overall security posture. These solutions provide a robust framework of controls that address various compliance requirements, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and mitigating the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches.