Cybersecurity Compliance & Certifications
ATTACK Simulator's Professional ServicesTo avoid costly fines and penalties, IT organizations must implement security compliance defined in international standards and regulations. ATTACK Simulator’s Cybersecurity Awareness Training is a key part of multiple compliance programs. Learn all about how ATTACK Simulator can help you with certifications, getting certified, and becoming compliant.
Why is cybersecurity compliance important?
Information security has never been in higher demand than in today’s fast-growing digital world where cyberattacks are becoming common practice. Taking note of the arising risks and threats, external or internal, and installing risk management protocols are vital for an organization’s reputation and security.
Regardless of their industry, organizations working with sensitive customer data should abide by international standards of information security to validate their professionalism and integrity.
These international standards are part of an integral program of compliance, and, on this page, we will cover some of the most common certifications of which our security awareness training is an essential part.
Note that receiving a certificate requires proof of several criteria.
Do i need a cybersecurity certification?
One way to differentiate your business in today’s competitive scenery is to strive to reach acclaimed standards in your company. Meeting these requirements are often awarded with a certification that legitimizes your valuable practices. But what does exactly getting certified mean? To put it short: being in compliance with the guidelines of the certification you are trying to achieve.
ATTACK Simulator Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Ongoing Training
Note that implementing security controls is an ongoing process in order to maintain your certification. As cyberattacks are constantly evolving, so are the practices against it. We recommend continuous training for keeping up to date. This is why our product – ATTACK Simulator – is designed as a long-term running program, providing training packages up to two years.
We’re planning to offer a SaaS (software as a service), a highly recommended option for small-medium businesses, which will enable our customers to have a monthly subscription.
ISO/IEC 27001: Information Security Management
Due to its comprehensive framework for information protection, ISO/IEC 27001 is the leading international standard for information security management systems (ISMS) published by the International Organization for Standardization. Although not mandatory, there are many benefits to achieving such a certification, among which having a competitive advantage. The certification proves the organization’s dedication to protecting the customer’s information and compliance with relevant legislation. ISO/IEC 27001 focuses on protecting three fundamental characteristics of information: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It also applies to all types of organizations, regardless of their size, type, or nature.
Security awareness training, like the one provided by ATTACK Simulator, is a mandatory step in being awarded the ISO/IEC 27001 certificate, making it a low investment that brings about great benefits.
PCI-DSS - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance covers all organizations that store, process, or transmit cardholder data – meaning the majority of businesses. This standard is intended to protect customer financial information by requiring that all merchants who accept card payments, to establish clear data protection policies. These procedures range from security management policies to network architecture in an attempt to mitigate the risk of payment card data loss.
Being awarded a PCI-DSS certification requires that your organization takes appropriate steps towards controlling the risk of data breach. This means, among other measures, running a security training program that educates the employees working with cardholder’s financial information about the importance of taking appropriate measures to protect such data. However, this practice requires regularity as online threats are also getting more sophisticated. Note that penalties for non-compliance include withdrawing your organization’s ability to accept card payments. It also represents a GDPR breach for which you could face additional fines.
ATTACK Simulator provides the security awareness material that teaches employees the best practices when dealing with cyber security threats, which is a stepping stone in obtaining the PCI-DSS certification.
HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance applies to all businesses and organizations that are considered healthcare providers, such as hospitals, doctors, psychologists, or pharmacies, that work with patients’ health information. Protected health information (PHI) can be stored or transmitted in a vast array of media, making it vulnerable to data theft. Assuring a high degree of security and privacy of patients’ health information is one of the primary purposes of this act, making security awareness training for everyone dealing with protected health information a mandatory standard of compliance. Of course, implementing appropriate administrative and physical safeguards to ensure the medical information is securely stored is also required for achieving the certificate.
ATTACK Simulator, with its Security Awareness program, covers an important step in obtaining the HIPAA Certificate.
GLBA - Gramm Leach Bliley Act
The Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), previously known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is a United States federal law that focuses on protecting financial information. Any institution that processes financial data (predominantly banks) is liable under the GLBA and is requested to have a transparent approach regarding customers’ private information. The act encompasses three sections: the Financial Privacy Role, the Safeguard Rule, and the Pretexting Provisions, all highlighting the importance of ensuring customer data security and confidentiality. Non-compliance can lead to business disruption and high charges. Complying with these standards involves, among others, a robust security awareness training that would prepare employees to protect customer information against unauthorized access or any other possible risks of data breach that could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of such data.
As stated, financial information should be protected, and ATTACK Simulator has a Security Awareness course that teaches your employees exactly how to safeguard this data.
FISMA - Federal Information Security Management Act & NIST SP 800-53 - National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-53
The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) is part of the Electronic Government Act of 2002 and requires all federal agencies (and state agencies administering federal programs) to comply with specific procedures that would assure information security. The scope of the act is to enhance management practices related to government information security. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-53) developed Special Publication 800-53 – a framework for ensuring information security. The publication contains a list of suggested security controls that federal agencies have to establish to become FISMA certified. As federal agencies are popular targets of cyberattacks, trained personnel is of paramount importance. Undergoing security awareness training educates employees dealing with sensitive data to minimize the risks and increase information protection.
You can implement ATTACK Simulator’s Security Awareness program in your institution for obtaining the FISMA certification.
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the strictest framework ever implemented by the European Union (EU) regarding collecting and processing personal information from EU citizens. It applies to all organizations and businesses that handle personal information from EU data subjects. The law assures a lawful and transparent collection and processing and ensures data security and privacy. Non-compliance such as misuse of data or data breach can lead to dire consequences to the reputation of a company, and charges of $20 million or 4% of the annual revenue, whichever is higher. Thus, we recommend instilling all appropriate procedures as recommended by GDPR. Any company that works with such data should consider security awareness training a vital measure towards data protection.
With its real-life simulations and educational content, ATTACK Simulator was built with GDPR compliance in mind.
Extended Compliance
Security awareness training is usually a requirement for compliance in any security related certification, especially those that require data protection, regardless of the country of origin. We acknowledge that this list of certifications is not exhaustive and, therefore, want to emphasize that ATTACK Simulator’s security awareness training can meet the compliance standards in various other certifications that involve the protection of sensitive information.
We encourage all companies that, through their nature, are subject to the above-mentioned certifications, or any other certifications that involve information security, to start investing in their data protection.
There’s no reason to postpone training your employees
Get a quote based on your organization’s needs and start building a strong cyber security infrastructure today.