Navigating IT compliance: a guide for small businesses

Cover photo from Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Reading time: 7 mins

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IT compliance probably won’t rank in this summer’s top 40 hottest hits. But it’s a topic that affects all businesses. You might think being an SME means compliance and IT are topics you don’t need to worry about – sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you can’t get out of it that easily.  

While IT compliance might not be the coolest kid in the schoolyard, it does bring some pretty cool benefits. Ensuring compliance not only protects your company from legal repercussions but also builds trust.  

But if, like most people, IT compliance isn’t a topic that toots your horn, don’t worry. Here’s a guide to help small businesses navigate the complexities of compliance and IT and avoid the nasty consequences that can come with compliance rebellion.

Understanding IT compliance

IT compliance involves adhering to laws, regulations, and guidelines that govern how organisations manage and protect digital information. For small businesses, this can include industry-specific regulations, such as HIPAA for healthcare, as well as broader guidelines like GDPR or ISO27001.

So, if your business is IT compliant, that means it’s met those legal requirements, and therefore is more protected from data breaches. However, which laws and regulations apply to your business depend on the country you’re in (or operate in) and your industry. You can’t just pick which set of guidelines to follow.

Key IT compliance regulations

1. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

• Scope: Applies to all organisations handling the data of EU citizens, regardless of the organisation's location.

• Key requirements: Includes obtaining explicit consent for data collection, providing the right to access and erase data, and reporting data breaches within 72 hours.

• Penalties: Non-compliance can result in fines up to €20 million, or 4% of the company’s annual global turnover, whichever is higher.

2. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

• Scope: Primarily applies to healthcare providers and insurers handling health data in the US but can affect European organisations dealing with US health data.

• Key requirements: Mandates the protection of medical information. Requires breach notifications and gives patients control over who can access their health records. HIPAA is very complex – it’s more nuanced in certain areas.

• Penalties: Penalties range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million.

3. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

• Scope: Applies to all publicly traded companies in the US, including European companies listed on US exchanges. Its focus is on financial reporting and auditing.

• Key requirements: Requires internal controls for financial processes and regular audits.

• Penalties: Severe penalties for non-compliance, including fines up to $5 million and 20-years imprisonment.

4. Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS)

• Scope: Applies to EU operators of essential services (e.g., energy, transport, health), digital service providers and more. It’s soon to be followed by NIS2, an update with stricter requirements.

• Key requirements: Requires implementing security measures and reporting significant incidents to authorities.

• Penalties: Varies by EU member state, but for NIS2 will be as high as €10 million, or 2% of annual global revenue – whichever is greater.

5. Critical Infrastructure Protection (KRITIS)

• Scope: Applies to critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, water, information technology, and telecommunications in Germany.

• Key requirements: Mandates the implementation of state-of-the-art security measures and reporting of significant incidents.

• Penalties: Non-compliance can result in fines up to €20 million and enforcement actions.

6. Digital Operations Resilience Act (DORA)

• Scope: Applies to financial entities including banks, investment firms, and insurance companies in the EU.

• Key requirements: Includes robust risk management frameworks, immediate reporting of incidents and regular testing of digital operational resilience.  

• Penalties: Fines of up to 2% of annual turnover, as well as increased oversight from regulatory authorities.

7. International Standard for Information Security Management (ISO27001)

• Scope: Not a regulation per se, but rather a widely recognised standard. Applies to organisations of any size or sector.

• Key Requirements: Requires establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS).

Step-by-step implementation guide

Initial assessment

1. Conduct a compliance audit

• Gap analysis: Identify discrepancies between existing practices and compliance requirements.

• Risk assessment: Determine potential vulnerabilities and their impact on data security. These might look like:

Weak access controls:

• Insufficient methods to verify the identity of users and control what actions they can perform.

• Lack of multi-factor authentication.

Data encryption gaps:

• Unencrypted sensitive data.

• Poor encryption key management – for you and me, that means not managing digital codes that lock and unlock sensitive information.

Inadequate employee training:

• Staff unaware of compliance policies and IT security best practices.

• Lack of ongoing training programs.

Incomplete security policies:

• Outdated or missing IT security policies.

• Lack of an incident response plan, which is a written document used to guide your organisation through security breaches.

Insufficient monitoring and audits:

• No regular internal or external audits.

• Inadequate monitoring of IT systems for compliance.

Vulnerable endpoints:

• Unsecured devices accessing the network.

• Lack of remote wipe capabilities for lost/stolen devices, which allows you to delete data stored on a device from afar.

Data breach response:

• Slow or ineffective response to data breaches.

• Failure to notify authorities and affected individuals in time.

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Develop a compliance plan

2. Outline policies and procedures:

• Policy creation: Develop IT security policies covering data protection, access controls (who can access what), and incident response (what to do in a security emergency).

3. Assign responsibilities:

• Role designation: Assign specific compliance-related tasks to staff members.

Implement security measures

4. Encrypt sensitive data:

• Data encryption: Use robust encryption methods. You can find them built-in to most Apple and Windows devices.

• Key management: Implement secure key management practices for locking and unlocking sensitive data.

5. Ensure secure access controls:

• Authentication: Enforce multi-factor authentication for accessing sensitive information.

• Authorisation: Implement access controls to restrict access based on job roles.

Training and awareness

6. Conduct regular staff training:

• Initial training: Provide comprehensive training on compliance and IT security best practices.

7. Keep everyone informed about compliance policies:

• Communication: Regularly communicate policy updates and compliance guidelines to all employees.

• Resources: Provide easy access to compliance resources and support.

Regular monitoring and audits

8. Schedule periodic reviews:

• Audits: Conduct regular internal and external audits from third-party auditors to evaluate the effectiveness of your compliance measures.

9. Adjust strategies as needed:

• Continuous improvement: Use audit findings to update and improve company compliance.

A helping hand in IT compliance

Costs vs. benefits

Compliance might seem complex, but the cost of non-compliance can be sky high. Granny’s Christmas money isn’t going to cover a €20 million GDPR compliance breach.

If you still need some encouragement to get your compliance show on the road: investing in compliance not only avoids the fines, but it also enhances customer trust and operational efficiency. That could actually equate to gaining money in the long run.

If IT compliance has you feeling a little overwhelmed, you have some options. Idea #1: undertake ISO27001 certification to prove you’re compliant. Problem is, achieving the certification is an extremely complicated task.  

To make matters worse, it can set you back by up to €70,000 (that’s still less than that €20 million GDPR breach, though). It’s also worth noting that the longer you put off managing your IT compliance, the higher the cost will likely become.

But having a strong and secure IT setup from the outset can make reaching IT compliance way easier – and cheaper. That’s because in handling your IT infrastructure responsibly, you will automatically tick some of the compliance boxes.

How deeploi's features help achieve IT compliance

Idea #2: make the heavy lifting of IT compliance significantly lighter by using solutions like deeploi. deeploi streamlines your IT infrastructure and management, and in doing so already checks many of the compliance to-dos off the list. For example:

1. Cybersecurity & compliance management

• State-of-the-art security: Through partnership with WithSecure, deeploi provides robust security infrastructure that aligns with GDPR, HIPAA, and other requirements. WithSecure includes elements such as endpoint protection, vulnerability management and incident response.

• Mobile device management: Via deeploi, you can remotely lock and wipe devices in the case that they are lost or stolen, reducing the potential and extent of data breaches.

2. Employee on- & offboarding

• Automated onboarding: deeploi streamlines manual processes – software is ready on your devices pre-onboarding, and user accounts are set up for you. All your new employee needs to do is log in with the deeploi companion app. This hugely reduces the chance of human errors that can lead to compliance pitfalls, like an employee downloading programs from an untrustworthy website.

• Offboarding: You can revoke access to software remotely so that employees can no longer access sensitive information during the offboarding process.

3. Inventory and device management

• Transparent IT: deeploi offers a centralised system for recording devices and controlling access. Accurate tracking of your hardware, software and permissions is an important part of meeting compliance regulations, as it allows you to easily identify any vulnerabilities.  

• Updates and patch management: Patches are updates to software that often contain security improvements. deeploi automatically checks for patches and updates your software every 24 hours, meaning it stays secure and compliant.

The conclusion on compliance

Navigating IT compliance may seem daunting, but small businesses can (see: must) successfully manage their compliance obligations. A blasé attitude towards compliance can land your company in the emergency room: in fact, 60% of small companies go out of business within six months of a data breach. By understanding the regulations, implementing effective policies, and leveraging technology like deeploi to help you out, you can protect your business and build trust with your customers.

For more info on deeploi’s features, check out our website.  

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