Cybersecurity Regulations and Standards - Annabelly22/Information-Assurance GitHub Wiki

Cybersecurity Regulations and Standards:

1. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

History and Background:

  • Enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996.
  • Intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system.
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for the implementation and enforcement of HIPAA.

General Description:

  • HIPAA provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information.

Who Must Comply:

  • Healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses.
  • Business associates of those entities that process health information.

Specific Controls/Requirements:

  • Security Rule: Establishes standards to protect electronic personal health information (ePHI) that is created, received, used, or maintained.
  • Privacy Rule: Sets standards for the protection of individuals' medical records and other personal health information.
  • Breach Notification Rule: Requires covered entities and their business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected health information.

Enforcement and Penalties:

  • Enforced by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the HHS.
  • Penalties for non-compliance can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with a maximum penalty of $1.5 million per year for violations of the same provision.

Compliance Challenges:

  • Ensuring all PHI is adequately protected and encrypted.
  • Training staff and implementing policies and procedures can be resource-intensive.

Benefits/Value:

  • Enhances the protection of individuals' health information.
  • Improves patients' trust in the healthcare system.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Compliance can be costly and complex, especially for smaller entities.
  • Continuous updating of security measures can be challenging.

2. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)

History and Background:

  • Launched in 2004.
  • Developed by the major credit card companies as a unified approach to safeguarding credit cardholder information.

General Description:

  • A set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.

Who Must Comply:

  • All entities involved in payment card processing—including merchants, processors, acquirers, issuers, and service providers.

Specific Controls/Requirements:

  • Requirements are grouped into six goals, including building and maintaining a secure network, protecting cardholder data, and maintaining a vulnerability management program.

Enforcement and Penalties:

  • Non-compliance can result in fines, increased transaction fees, or loss of card processing privileges.

Compliance Challenges:

  • Constantly evolving security threats require ongoing vigilance and updates to security measures.
  • Smaller businesses may struggle with the resources required for compliance.

Benefits/Value:

  • Reduces the risk of data breaches and credit card fraud.
  • Increases consumer confidence in merchants.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Can be seen as burdensome, especially for small businesses.
  • Compliance does not guarantee protection from breaches.

3. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

GLBA:

  • Enacted in 1999 to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.
  • Requires financial institutions to explain their information-sharing practices to their customers and to safeguard sensitive data.

SOX:

  • Enacted in 2002 in response to major corporate and accounting scandals.
  • Mandates strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud.

Who Must Comply:

  • GLBA: Financial institutions.
  • SOX: All publicly held companies.

Specific Controls/Requirements:

  • GLBA: Safeguards Rule, Financial Privacy Rule, and Pretexting Protection.
  • SOX: Implements stricter recordkeeping requirements and requires internal controls on financial reporting.

Enforcement and Penalties:

  • Non-compliance can lead to significant fines and legal consequences.

Compliance Challenges:

  • The need for comprehensive data protection measures and constant monitoring.

Benefits/Value:

  • Enhances consumer protection and restores investor confidence.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Compliance can be costly and complex.

4. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

History and Background:

  • Adopted in 2016 and became enforceable in May 2018.
  • Designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe and protect EU citizens' data privacy.

General Description:

  • A regulation that requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for transactions that occur within EU member states.

Who Must Comply:

  • Any organization that processes personal data of individuals in the EU, regardless of the company’s location.

Specific Controls/Requirements:

  • Requires consent for data processing, provides data breach notifications, and mandates the safe transfer of data across borders.

Enforcement and Penalties:

  • Organizations can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover for breaching GDPR or €20 million.

Compliance Challenges:

  • Understanding and implementing the comprehensive requirements can be daunting.

Benefits/Value:

  • Strengthens and unifies data protection for individuals within the EU.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • The broad scope of the regulation can make compliance challenging for organizations outside the EU.