The Compliance Life Cycle

About this interactive

To comply is to meet a specified standard. For an organization that means lining up its operations and processes with what laws and regulations, customers and partners, and its own risk decisions require. The lesson gives compliance a life cycle. First, identify what applies: the laws, regulations and standards, and the requirements customers bring with them. Next, research what each one means for the organization. Then the requirement travels down a chain: it is written into the organization's policies, the policies drive changes to the procedures, and staff following those procedures is what turns compliance into action. It does not stop there. A new client brings new demands, a law is updated, or the business moves into a new location, so the organization re-evaluates: whenever a change like that happens, and on a regular schedule such as a yearly review. Anything new goes round the cycle again. Ending a compliance obligation is rare; once a law applies, it usually stays.

What you'll learn

Put the compliance life cycle in order: identify the requirements, research their impact, write them into policy, change the procedures, act on them, and re-evaluate
Trace how an outside requirement becomes everyday action: from the standard to a policy, from the policy to a procedure, and from the procedure to what staff do

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

5.4 Summarize elements of effective security compliance.

5.1 Summarize elements of effective security governance.

ISC2 CISSP

1.4 Understand legal, regulatory, and compliance issues that pertain to information security in a holistic context

Key terms

Compliance Life Cycle: The ongoing process of identifying applicable compliance requirements, implementing policies and procedures, and periodically re-evaluating them as laws, clients, or operating territories change.
Compliance: The act of adhering to the laws, regulations, standards, and internal policies that govern how an organization handles data and security. Compliance programs use audits and controls to demonstrate that requirements are being met.
Security Policy: A formal document that defines an organization's security goals, rules, and responsibilities.
Regulation: A legally binding rule or requirement issued by a governing authority that organizations must follow.

Topics

Compliance Compliance Life Cycle Governance Interactive Ordering

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