The first step to cybersecurity compliance lies in creating controls. Nearly every standard or regulation requires you to establish policies, procedures, and protocols. However, the adage holds: “actions speak louder than words.” Ensuring that everyone within the organization complies with policies and procedures can sometimes be a more formidable process than creating them.

While automated tools often enable your compliance management system (CMS), the CMS is less a technology and more a corporate compliance program. A compliance management system looks like a series of policies, procedures, and processes governing all compliance efforts. However, as more companies embed technology across the enterprise and more compliance requirements focus on cybersecurity, information security integrates across the CMS.

Although often used interchangeably, risk appetite and risk tolerance distinguish themselves from one another in a nuanced way. While most regulations and standards focus on the risk management process, few clearly define the differences between these terms in a meaningful way. However, to create an effective cybersecurity program, you need to be able to separate risk appetite from risk tolerance so that you can develop appropriate controls to protect data.