A ''Compliance First'' Mindset Limits Liabilities for SMBs¬

In simple terms, compliance is anything someone else makes you do. This means laws, regulations, contracts, and even the terms of a cyber insurance policy. Failure to act responsibly can have devastating results − hefty penalties, lawsuits, investigations, and the failure to have insurance cover big claims that can exceed $1 million.

Think again if you think compliance is only for enterprises or unimportant to you. There is no business that is exempt from compliance regulations, which is actually a good thing. When your business is compliant, you can avoid fines and penalties, improve operational safety, improve public relations, prevent attrition, and most importantly, make sure liability insurance pays out when an incident occurs. Investing in compliance has a measurable Return on Investment (ROI).

The 'Compliance First' approach can help your business avoid fines and stay in compliance with liability insurance requirements by meeting minimum regulatory requirements. You can then adopt additional measures to improve your business' compliance posture.

A single compliance error can invalidate liability insurance claims

It is common for small and medium-sized businesses to use free or inexpensive solutions. You should be aware that this is not a safe practice if you are one of them. You could face three major problems if you do not have solutions that meet the regulations (HIPAA, CMMC, PCI-DSS, GDPR) that outline security, encryption, and reporting standards:

1) A catastrophic breach that could have been prevented
2) There is a risk of non-compliance and fines as a result
3) You are at risk of breaching and nullifying liability insurance policies, leaving you financially exposed

While cheap or low-cost non-compliant solutions may be tempting, they can put your business at risk in the event of a compliance violation. You don't have to use a bunch of non-compliant solutions to invalidate your insurance; just one non-compliant solution can cause your claim to be rejected.

One act of negligence can invalidate all your insurance claims related to compliance regulations such as HIPAA, CMMC, GDPR and PCI-DSS. You are not alone if you feel overwhelmed by the vague regulatory guidelines. To ensure that your organization is properly protected, it is worth taking the time to learn more about your requirements.

The Cost of Non-Compliance

Businesses often view compliance spending as an unrewarding cost instead of an investment in protecting assets. The result is lower spending on compliance software or even understaffing of compliance teams. Your business' reputation and finances can suffer if it is found to be non-compliant.

It is not uncommon for HIPAA penalties to exceed $1 million. By not complying with cybersecurity regulations, defense contractors may lose their primary source of revenue.

If you accept credit cards, PCI-DSS violations can result in penalties of $5,000 to $100,000 per month by payment providers (VISA, Discover, etc.). The amount of the penalty depends on the number of clients and transactions you process.

Depending on the severity of the violation, GDPR violations can result in fines worth 2% to 4% of company revenue.

Federal and state laws protect even the information you have about your employees.

When selecting products, begin with a 'Compliance First' approach

Compliance first encompasses a wide range of critical considerations to keep a business compliant. Start with a business tool audit if you're not sure where to start. For internal compliance audits, the following tools can be used:

• Voice services, such as VoIP
• Hosting and storage of files in the cloud
• Transfer and sharing of documents
• Productivity tools
• Communication tools
• Any digital product, tool, or service used for business purposes

It is a requirement of many regulations that data, including voice messages and emails, must be encrypted while in transit and when being stored. Review each solution's product sheet or release notes to determine if your version is compliant. Get an independent audit report from the technology vendor if you're still unsure whether the solution meets your compliance requirements.

By developing a compliance-oriented culture within your business, you can prevent it from falling into the quicksand of noncompliance.

It can be challenging to implement the 'compliance first' approach. Don't worry, we can integrate this approach seamlessly into your business operations to meet legal and insurance requirements. Contact us today to get started.