How to Manage IT Compliance Risk for Remote Teams

It’s a few years ago now that Covid-19 blew its germs upon our world - and breathed new life into the way we work. And in a large part due to the pandemic, we now enjoy remote and hybrid working models that bring benefits such as convenience, freedom and environmental improvements - but we also face some pretty serious risks. When employees are using systems from home, coffee shops and even public transport, security and data integrity can easily be compromised and today’s IT and management teams find themselves scrambling to keep up.



So, what’s the solution? Well, glad you asked; the good news is that it is absolutely possible to find the sweet spot between security and flexibility and we’re here to show you how decentralized risk management frameworks are the key to success for businesses like yours.

Decentralized Risk Management: Core Principles and Benefits

The modern business is constantly at risk from data breaches and cybercrime and trying to manage this from one centralized hub can feel a bit like a game of Whack-a-Mole; particularly when staff are logging in remotely.

Decentralized risk management is all about divvying up the responsibility when it comes to speedy identification and assessment of risks within the workplace. The benefits of this are myriad and include:

• Giving employees ownership of security and risk
• Introducing risk management tailored to each individual team rather than a one-size-fits-all approach
• Better and faster insights into potential chinks in your security’s armour
• Super speedy response leading to reduced downtime

As well as making risk and security protocols more effective, this introduces accountability across teams rather than a culture where the buck stops with the IT department.

Integrating Cybersecurity Expertise in a Distributed Model

The rise in cyber threats demands very strong cybersecurity systems that adapt dynamically. Integrating specialization, such as Acture Solutions's cybersecurity team allows companies to implement advanced defenses, and maintain compliance with evolving regulations at the same time.



Cyberthreats don’t just bring hassle, they can also result in hefty fines and some pretty darn devastating reputational damage - which means that fighting this should be your number one priority. Because not all heroes wear capes, specialised cybersecurity experts can help you to fight fires on a number of fronts including inside-out knowledge of legal stuff like data handling practices. And this type of “belt and braces” security automation significantly reduces potential breach costs.

The real superpower of these companies, however, is in nipping risks in the bud before they blow up your business. By deploying super-tech like Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, forward thinking monitoring and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platforms, specialised providers are able to keep your company one step ahead of the baddies. Not only that but they’re a dab hand at untangling complicated compliance issues for you to keep you sitting pretty in an increasingly complex world.

But There Are Challenges…

So, we’ve given you an idea of what this brave new tech can do for you - but we never said it would be easy!  As with anything else, there are some challenges including:

1. Consistency Across the Board: Achieving matchy-matchy standards of compliance across all teams and departments can be a sticky wicket here due to different interpretations of policy and priority.
2. Visibility and Monitoring: Ironically, distributed environments can actually hamper monitoring and reporting leading to delays in finding issues and leaping into action.
3. Resource Allocation: This type of approach can sometimes mean that resources end up being spread a little thin - and smaller teams might miss out when it comes to divvying up budgets.
4. Complex Regulatory Landscape: When your business is leaping over international boundaries, you may find yourself in rough seas when it comes to navigating multiple sets of rules and regulations.
5. Data Privacy Concerns: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, when you’re pinging data from pillar to post, you increase the risk of a breach - meaning that you’re going to need some super-stringent data policies to counteract this.

While all of this may sound a little doom and gloom, it can (and should) be balanced by the implementation of rock-solid policies, centralized dashboards and comprehensive audits to keep you on the straight and narrow.

Using Technology to Enhance Compliance

So, decentralized risk management systems, on the whole, sound pretty great, huh? True enough - but you do absolutely, positively need the tech to back them up. When implementing this approach, it’s vital that you grab yourself some kit including Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools to keep an eye on the integrity of your Cloud systems and AI for next-level threat detection. When you combine risk management systems with advanced technology, you end up with a dream-team that streamlines your business as well as protecting it.

Best Practices for Navigating IT Compliance

If you’re new to all this, it can be easy to stray off the path of compliance and so, in this section, we’re sharing our best practices for keeping your business on track:

1. Establish Clear Governance: This is a fancy way of saying that you need to make sure that everybody knows what to do, how to do it and when to do it within the framework. While you’re at it, you’ll want to standardise your security policies while keeping in mind local differences.
2. Implement Continuous Training: Policies and governance don’t stand still and so neither should your training. Regularly educating employees is essential in making your system work.
3. Adopt a Zero Trust Model: Unauthorised access can blow the doors off your business and so each and every request should be verified no matter who or where - in other words, trust no-one!

4. Engage Expert Partners: Just to contradict ourselves from our last point, the people you really do need to trust are specialists in IT and cybersecurity who will help you to keep the wheels turning.
5. Utilize Centralized Reporting Tools: We shouldn’t need to tell you that using the right tools for the job is of paramount importance - but we’re going to anyway. Central reporting and comprehensive dashboards are the way forward when it comes to making this thing work for you. As with all of your tech, you’ll want to make sure it’s scalable unless you want your business to outgrow it.
6. Conduct Regular Audits: As we touched on earlier, regular audits (including surprise ones) are key to finding and plugging gaps.

Conclusion

As we rely more and more on technology - and our workforces are increasingly working remotely, decentralized risk management is a "must-have" rather than a “that would be nice”. As well as allowing you to tackle compliance and security issues, this also breeds a security-first culture which empowers teams to grab the reins and take ownership. By investing in the right tech, educating your staff and building great partnerships, you can ensure that you stay one step ahead of risk both now and in the future.