Cybersecurity compliance is a sizable challenge for small and mid-sized businesses that don’t have the resources to build a full-time security team. In fact, cybersecurity is the top concern among small businesses today.
Affordable compliance solutions might feel out of reach, and you might also be wondering if you need a full-time security team for compliance. Fortunately, outsourcing cybersecurity compliance is a great way to achieve compliance while reducing overhead and complexity.
What Are the Common Compliance Challenges for Small Businesses?
Small and medium-sized businesses face several key compliance challenges:
- Meeting industry compliance requirements: Depending on your industry, you may need to follow specific compliance requirements. The healthcare, finance, and technology industries all have standards to ensure security. For example, they follow HIPAA, PCI DSS, or SOC 2 for compliance.
- The rising threat of cyber threats. AI, ransomware, phishing, malware, and other cyber threats continue to plague small businesses. By causing data breaches, massive disruptions, and serious financial consequences, they impact small businesses’ ability to function and grow.
- Managing the complexity of compliance: From legal obligations to data protection and audit preparation, achieving compliance is no small matter. Many businesses struggle to both understand and implement complex technical requirements to determine if they are currently compliant.
- Resource limitations: Smaller businesses have a smaller staff, which often means they face a lack of in-house IT expertise for cybersecurity compliance. In the wake of rising cyber threats, this exposes small businesses to potential harm and cybercrime.
Why Do Small Businesses Struggle To Afford a Full-Time Security Team?
If your small business has a limited budget, justifying a full-time cybersecurity compliance team can be difficult at best.
In addition to the price tag, a full-time security team manages everything from risk management to security monitoring to incident response to compliance documentation and audits. It can be hard to find this range of skill and expertise on a small budget.
Not only is it expensive to hire a full-time team, but retention is also an ongoing challenge in the industry. Unemployment among cybersecurity professionals can be as low as 0%, and turnover can be high since cybersecurity experts have so many job options and are often poached from one company to another. Likewise, some pros prefer to work on a flexible contract basis rather than in a full-time role for just one business.
How Can Outsourcing Help Achieve Compliance Without a Full-Time Team?
Outsourcing can help your organization achieve compliance without the expense or hassle of a full-time team. Here are some of the key advantages of outsourcing:
- Cost efficiency: With outsourcing, your business can access expert services without the overhead of a full-time team, providing notable cost efficiencies.
- Scalability: Outsourced services can grow with your needs, offering more flexibility than an internal team.
- Expertise: You will also get the benefit of specialized knowledge that ensures your organization is always up-to-date with the latest security standards and compliance regulations.
- Focus on core operations: By outsourcing compliance, you can focus more on your core offerings without being overwhelmed by cybersecurity concerns and to-dos.
The benefits of outsourcing compliance are extensive. Your organization will enjoy improved cybersecurity and risk management. It will increase operational efficiencies and faster, more cost-effective compliance certification achievement. Finally, your business will be better protected against the financial and reputational risks associated with non-compliance and data breaches.
Practical Steps To Achieving Compliance Without a Full-Time Security Team
Your business can still achieve compliance without a full-time cybersecurity team. Here are the five steps to take:
- Assess your needs: Understand your business’s compliance requirements and risk factors.
- Choose the right outsourced provider: When you are evaluating potential third-party security and compliance partners, look for the trifecta of experience, flexibility, and certifications. Take the time to assess and interview multiple third-party experts to find the best fit for your goals.
- Implement your strategy: Work with your provider to create a roadmap for putting your compliance goals into action.
- Ongoing monitoring and adjustment: Your compliance efforts must evolve with changing regulations and emerging threats.
- Achieve and maintain certifications: With the support of your expert provider, you should successfully pass compliance audits and maintain ongoing certification.
What Should You Look for When Choosing a Compliance Partner?
If you are looking for a new compliance partner, make sure they check all of these boxes:
- Comprehensive compliance management with end-to-end solutions from risk assessments to compliance audits
- Security expertise and a track record of helping businesses pass certifications such as SOC 2 and more
- Ongoing support and monitoring that will help you maintain compliance and adapt to changing regulations
- Flexibility and customization that meets your unique needs and your budget
Don’t compromise when it comes to cybersecurity compliance. Make sure you are getting the support and expertise you need.
How Can a Service Provider Like Trava Security Help Achieve Compliance?
Trava Security can help you outsource cybersecurity compliance and streamline your path to compliance and growth. Here are some of the ways a service provider like Trava can help your business achieve compliance:
- vCISO services for small businesses that elevate your security strategy: Our virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs) provide expert leadership and risk management that can transform your organization’s security program to empower growth securely and cost-effectively.
- Compliance as a Service: With full-service compliance management to get you audit-ready, Trava can help you accelerate your compliance journey, such as SOC 2 certification.
- Penetration testing and risk assessment: We perform critical security tests to identify vulnerabilities and mitigate risks. Penetrating testing can be used as evidence for compliance auditors and ensure your business is prepared.
Outsourcing compliance management is an affordable and effective solution for small and mid-sized businesses that want to meet cybersecurity and regulatory needs without the burden of a full-time security team. Working with an expert can help you achieve and streamline compliance efforts and deliver thorough cybersecurity consistently.
Reach out to Trava Security for a consultation or to explore more about how you can start the process of outsourcing cybersecurity and compliance.