Security isn’t something you implement once and leave alone. It’s a mindset, an operation, and an ongoing policy. Security frameworks like FedRAMP require a process called continuous monitoring in order to remain valid. The world of information threats is constantly evolving. Technology grows, changes, and improves, but with those changes come new vectors for intrusion, new methods for unauthorized access, and new exploits.

As a startup founder, security might not be the first thing on your mind. You’re busy building features, finding product-market fit, and growing your customer base. But security isn’t just a nice to have—it’s essential to helping you hit key milestones faster, from winning larger customers to securing your next round of funding.

In the digital age, where cyber threats loom large and data breaches have become all too common, the humble password remains a vital security gatekeeper. Yet, with stolen credentials accounting for 31% of breaches, according to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, it’s clear that organizations often fail to protect passwords.

More than ever, business growth is reliant on proving security and compliance. According to Vanta’s State of Trust Report, nearly two-thirds (65%) of organizations say that customers, investors, and buyers require proof of compliance. ‍ GRC and security teams are on the frontlines managing these requests. Yet these teams are too often under-resourced and burdened with processes and systems that waste their time.

There is an increasing need for traceability and attestation of the actions taken as software moves across the SDLC. Emerging regulations and policies around secure software development are rapidly evolving, and it’s important to stay ahead of the changing landscape. Some organizations have taken a proactive approach with home-grown solutions or manual processes, but despite best efforts, these solutions often lack scale and eventually falter over time.

Government contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) for the Department of Defense must navigate complex compliance requirements. Central to these requirements is the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which mandates conformance to NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS 252. This framework encompasses 110 security requirements across 14 security domains, including Access Control, Audit and Accountability, Risk Assessment, Incident Response, and several others.

As we advance into 2025, data privacy continues to be a critical area of focus for organizations worldwide. The accelerating pace of technological innovation, coupled with heightened consumer awareness and stricter regulatory frameworks, demands that technology leaders prioritize data protection. This article explores key trends shaping the future of data privacy and offers actionable insights for navigating this complex landscape.

Remote work isn’t just a temporary trend anymore; it has become a permanent fixture. What began as a quick response during the pandemic has evolved into the new normal for businesses worldwide. In America, 20% of people now work from home. While this has its advantages (flexibility for workers and cost savings for businesses), it’s not without its complications, having cracked open a host of issues around cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.

According to a Gartner report, 60% of organizations will rely on third-party vendors for more than half of their critical business operations by 2025. However, Gartner also warns that third-party risk events – such as data breaches or compliance violations – will increase by 30% in the same timeframe. As a technology leader, these figures resonate deeply with the challenges I see organizations facing daily.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) comes into full effect on January 17, 2025. This deadline marks a monumental shift in how financial institutions and their technology providers prioritize and maintain operational resilience and cybersecurity standards – and sets in stone real business and regulatory consequences to ensure resilience is achieved. And like any sweeping security regulation, organizations must embark on an uphill journey to earn full compliance.

The full compliance process for CMMC, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, culminates in an audit that validates an organization’s cybersecurity posture and its implementation of the security controls that apply to it. Throughout this process, there is a gatekeeper who performs your audit. You may have heard of them referred to as a CMMC Auditor or a CMMC Assessor. With these two terms in play, you may be wondering what the difference is between them.

ISO published the ISO 27001 standard to outline an information security management system (ISMS) in 2005. Since then, significant revisions have taken place in 2013 and 2022 to better reflect the evolving climate of cybersecurity threats and technologies.

Financial organizations across Europe are actively preparing for the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), taking effect in January 2025. Meeting DORA compliance requirements has become essential for financial institutions as they adjust their operations to match new regulatory standards. The legislation brings substantial changes to information and communication technology (ICT) risk management practices, security protocols, and third-party oversight.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is poised to reshape the European financial landscape, demanding a robust defense against cyber threats and operational disruptions and Trustwave is putting the pedal to the metal to prepare clients with our DORA Readiness Accelerator service. The Trustwave DORA Readiness Accelerator, which joins Trustwave’s CMMC readiness and Microsoft Security accelerators, provides a structured approach to achieving compliance and bolstering operational resilience.

The AI space is developing rapidly but is still largely uncontrolled. According to The State of Trust Report 2024, 62% businesses plan to invest more in AI security in the next 12 months. ‍ The good news is that AI security can now be better implemented with the help of many authoritative new AI standards and frameworks rolled out in the past few years. The aim with any of these standards is to remove the uncertainty around AI systems and ensure responsible implementation.

ROPA is primarily utilized by organizations subject to data protection regulations. While it is a legal requirement for businesses of all sizes handling personal data, it is especially critical for large enterprises that process substantial volumes of data or sensitive information. Compliance officers, data protection officers (DPOs), legal teams, and IT departments often rely on ROPA to demonstrate compliance to regulators during audits or investigations.

This past month, the Vanta team launched new features to help you: ‍

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, version 2.0, is finally in effect, which means thousands of businesses that have roles in the Department of Defense supply line need to do the work to comply and pass their audits to receive certification. It’s inevitable that many of these businesses will fail their initial audits. The standards are high, the margin of error is narrow, and the timeline is tight.

The healthcare industry stands at the cusp of a major transformation with the introduction of the Healthcare Information Security Accountability Act (HISAA), a progressive regulatory framework set to replace the decades-old Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HISAA is designed to address the evolving complexities of healthcare data management, emphasizing real-time data governance, proactive monitoring, and stricter controls over third-party data exchanges.

Information security is no longer optional; it’s critical to running a successful, resilient business. ISO 27001, the international standard for information security management systems (ISMS), provides a structured approach to safeguarding data. Central to this framework are the 93 controls in Annex A, which are divided into four categories: organizational, people, physical, and technological.

PCI DSS 4 introduces new requirements for SAQ-A and SAQ-A-EP Merchants. Key new changes are Requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1. While these requirements play a crucial role in preventing and detecting e-commerce skimming attacks they also require merchants to implement and operate new technical capabilities on payment webpages. Requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1 apply to all scripts executed in a consumer’s browser on payment pages, defined as web-based interfaces that capture or submit account data.

The NIST AI Risk Management Framework (RMF) is one of the most advanced, globally accepted guidelines for the safe and responsible use of AI systems. If your organization implements AI in any capacity, adopting the NIST AI RMF can be a significant move toward future-proofing your operations and strengthening AI trustworthiness among customers.

A core product tenet at TrustCloud is delivering a “Joyfully Crafted” user experience for our users. As we wrap up 2024, the TrustCloud product and UX team went through all the user feedback we received this year, and identified some key “quality of life” improvements to make the day-to-day experience for our users more approachable. We’re excited to share these updates with you.

SAQ A-EP is a key focus of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4, which introduces changes affecting merchants. Designed for e-commerce merchants who partially outsource their payment processing but have website elements impacting transaction security, SAQ A-EP ensures compliance with these updated requirements. This article clarifies these changes and outlines the top 5 actions SAQ A-EP merchants should take before March 31, 2025.

Trust is critical to the success of every business. And in 2024, we saw that building, scaling, and demonstrating trust is getting more difficult for organizations. ‍ Vanta’s second annual State of Trust Report uncovered key trends across security, compliance, and the future of trust. Based on a survey of 2,500 IT and business leaders in the U.S., UK, and Australia, our research found that more than half (55%) of organizations say that security risks for their business have never been higher.

The Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has launched an effort to improve cybersecurity measures for a wide variety of healthcare organizations. The aim is to counter the significant increase in the number of breaches and cyberattacks impacting healthcare along with the common deficiencies OCR has observed in its investigations into Security Rule compliance, cybersecurity guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes.

The final step to achieving ISO 27001 certification is passing a final audit of your ISMS. During this process, you will work with an external, third-party auditor to perform a thorough audit of your systems, to evaluate compliance with the guidelines in ISO 27001. The question is, what will that auditor be doing? Do you hand them paperwork and the keys to the building and let them do their thing, or are they more interactive? What can you expect when working with your auditor?

Imagine a world where you can easily protect your company’s important data while ensuring compliance with strict security guidelines. ISO 27001:2022 promises just that. Because data breaches are becoming more expensive and cyber threats are growing, companies need to strengthen their security posture. Just in 2024, the average cost of a single data breach reached an astonishing $4.88 million. ISO 27001:2022 offers a proven framework to safeguard your organization’s information assets.

With more businesses using AI models in their products or services, the inherent AI risks have made it challenging to maintain customer trust. However, according to The State of Trust Report for 2024, only 37% of organizations conduct (or are in the process of conducting) regular AI risk assessments.

Businesses looking for serious compliance street cred often turn first to ISO 27001. ISO 27001 is a globally recognized framework that outlines and defines information security management system (ISMS) requirements. Because being ISO 27001 certified demonstrates an organization meets best practices for information security, ISO certification can give businesses a significant competitive advantage. If you’re weighing ISO 27001 vs.