How to Pick a Regulatory Compliance Partner
By Stan Sundel
Every day seems to bring news of another major hack in the headlines. A who’s who of the nation’s biggest and most prestigious businesses — Equifax, Yahoo, Marriott, and Facebook — have been devastated by data breaches. Millions of customers had their personal information compromised. Brands took huge reputational hits. And in a number of cases, cyberattacks have resulted in C-suite executives being terminated or publicly humiliated by members of congress. Some lawmakers have even suggested sending executives to prison for mishandling hacks.
Given the repercussions of botching a response to a breach, it’s no wonder that senior executives have started to take cyber threats much more seriously. Study after study shows that cyber risk is the top concern for business leaders and board members. The problem is that many business executives know that when it comes to handling hackers, they, themselves, aren’t fully prepared. One report found that a whopping 90% of corporate executives say they cannot read a cybersecurity report and aren’t prepared to respond to a major attack.
Many cybersecurity businesses have sprouted up like weeds, exploiting C-Suite executives’ fears. The vendor marketplace has grown so crowded that some cybersecurity companies have even gone as far as employing unethical sales tactics — including lies and blackmail — to recruit new clients. Given the growing number of cybersecurity offerings and solutions, it’s particularly important that companies carefully vet their vendors.
N2K is committed to partnering with other organizations that share our values and vision: creating a more cyber secure world. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Ascendant Compliance Management to drive effective and powerful knowledge and solutions to today’s business leaders.
What Is Regulatory Consulting?
Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of legislation and regulation in regard to cybersecurity and data privacy. These shifts in the legal and regulatory environment are happening at all levels of government: state, national, and international. Over the past few years, several landmark laws have gone into effect — including GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and NYDFS’s Cybersecurity Regulation, among others. Chief Compliance Officers are struggling to stay afloat while swimming in a sea of cyber red tape.
Keeping up with ever-evolving data privacy laws and regulations can be a huge hassle for any organization. Still, staying on the right side of regulators is imperative. Companies found to be noncompliant with cybersecurity laws and regulations potentially face bottom-line busting fines and fees.
One of the best ways that organizations can get their regulatory house in order is by working with a compliance consulting company. Our strategic partner, Ascendant, is an industry leader in regulatory consulting. Ascendant operates around a simple principle: Compliance does not need to be difficult. They provide a customized mix of training and technological solutions to guide organizations through the nuances of data privacy laws and regulations. Ascendant helps companies create a culture of compliance, putting in place policies and controls that reduce regulatory risks.
Ascendant has developed a platform, the Ascendant Compliance Manager (ACM), that simplifies the compliance challenge and makes it easier for organizations to keep on top of all the legal and regulatory issues that they have to oversee. ACM makes it easier to “monitor your offices, facilitate communication, meet your regulatory requirements, build and maintain a library of your documentation, track workflow, and map risk.” In short, Ascendant handles the heavy lifting of company compliance, allowing you to focus your attention on what matters most: growing your business.
Ascendant goes even one step further and offers some of the best conference-based compliance training we’ve seen in the market. These conferences are offered twice per year in the U.S., one on the east coast and one on the west coast. Each conference is hosted at a prime location and is designed to provide the most up-to-date knowledge on today’s most complex legal and regulatory issues—including cybersecurity. It’s difficult to create a truly great conference experience, one where attendees get the depth of knowledge, incredible networking opportunities, and in an elegant and relaxing setting. Ascendant has managed to find the perfect balance, which is one more reason why we chose to partner with them.
Want to Learn More?
Interested in learning more about cyber risk and regulations? Check out Ascendant’s upcoming conference in Miami. N2K’s Head of Executive Training Programs, Jeff Welgan, will be presenting on Tuesday, April 16th at 10:25 am. Jeff will take the stage for the general session entitled, “I Spy: Inside the Mind of a Hacker and Increasing Your Firm’s Culture of Cybersecurity.” You’ll get unique insights into cyber adversaries, and understand how different cyber threat actors assess your organization — and why they might view it as a tempting target. In doing so, he will show you how you can leverage a hacker’s mindset to establish a strong culture of cybersecurity awareness within your firm.
Can’t make the conference, but still want to learn more about cyber risk? Check out our executive cyber risk training programs.