Compliance Requirements Check

Compliance Requirements Check

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Compliance with industry regulations is not optional — violations can result in severe fines, legal liability, and loss of customer trust. This lesson helps you identify which regulations apply to your business and audit whether you meet their requirements.

Identifying Applicable Regulations

Different industries face different compliance requirements. Identify which apply to you:

• HIPAA (Healthcare) — Applies to medical practices, therapists, and any business handling patient health information. Requires technical, physical, and administrative safeguards.
• PCI DSS (Payment Cards) — Applies to any business that processes, stores, or transmits credit card data. Required even for small businesses using payment processors.
• GDPR (European Customers) — Applies if you have customers or employees in the EU/EEA, regardless of your location. Mandates data protection and breach notification.
• CCPA/CPRA (California) — Applies if you collect data from California residents and meet revenue thresholds. Requires data privacy disclosures and deletion rights.
• SOX (Public Companies) — Applies to publicly traded companies. Requires financial data controls and audit trails.
• FINRA/SEC (Financial Services) — Applies to financial advisors, broker-dealers, and investment firms. Requires data retention and cybersecurity programs.
• State Data Breach Laws — All 50 states have breach notification laws. Know your state's requirements for notifying affected individuals.

General Compliance Audit Checklist

Regardless of specific regulations, audit these universal compliance areas:

• Data classification — Have you identified and labeled sensitive data (PII, PHI, financial)?
• Data encryption — Is sensitive data encrypted at rest and in transit?
• Access logging — Are access to sensitive systems logged and retained per regulatory requirements?
• Data retention policy — Do you have documented retention periods for each data type?
• Data disposal — Are there procedures for secure data destruction (shredding, wiping)?
• Employee training — Is security awareness training conducted and documented annually?
• Vendor risk assessment — Have you reviewed the security practices of vendors handling your data?
• Breach notification plan — Do you know who to notify and within what timeframe if a breach occurs?

Step-by-Step Compliance Audit

1. Identify applicable regulations — Research which laws apply to your industry, location, and data types
2. Review current compliance status — What safeguards are already in place?
3. Conduct a gap analysis — Compare current state against each regulatory requirement
4. Prioritize gaps — Address the highest-risk and most easily fixed gaps first
5. Document compliance measures — Record all controls, policies, and procedures in place
6. Train employees — Conduct required training and maintain completion records
7. Schedule regular reviews — Compliance is ongoing — review at least annually

Industry-Specific Audit Points

Healthcare (HIPAA)

• Conduct annual HIPAA Security Risk Assessment
• Maintain Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with all vendors handling PHI
• Encrypt all devices that may access patient data
• Have documented breach notification procedures (60-day requirement)
• Train all staff on HIPAA privacy and security annually

Payment Processing (PCI DSS)

• Complete annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ)
• Use PCI-compliant payment processors
• Do not store card data unless absolutely necessary
• Segment payment processing from other network traffic
• Run quarterly vulnerability scans (many are free through your processor)

General Data Protection (GDPR/CCPA)

• Maintain a data inventory showing what personal data you collect and why
• Have procedures for fulfilling data subject requests (access, deletion)
• Post a privacy policy on your website
• Document consent for data collection
• Have a breach notification plan (GDPR: 72 hours, CCPA: "without undue delay")

Free Compliance Tools and Resources

• HHS Security Risk Assessment Tool — Free HIPAA risk assessment for small healthcare providers
• PCI Security Standards Council — Free SAQs and guidance documents
• GDPR.eu — Free GDPR compliance checklists and templates
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework — Free framework mapping to compliance requirements
• CISA Cyber Hygiene — Free vulnerability scanning for small businesses
• State Attorney General websites — Free state-specific breach notification guidance

Cybersecurity Insurance Considerations

Many businesses now require cyber insurance. Review your policy for:

• Required security controls (many policies mandate MFA, backups, employee training)
• Coverage limits and deductibles
• Exclusions (acts of war, unpatched systems, prior knowledge)
• Incident response requirements (may require using approved vendors)
• Compliance documentation requirements to maintain coverage

Key Takeaways

• Identify all regulations that apply to your business — industry, state, and federal
• Conduct a gap analysis comparing your current state to each requirement
• Document everything — compliance is about proof, not just practice
• Train employees annually and keep completion records
• Review compliance status at least annually — regulations change and your business evolves