RegTech Simplifies Governance, Risk, and Compliance

As compliance costs skyrocket, standards grow increasingly complex, and the cyber threat environment evolves, organizations are turning to RegTech solutions to automate their compliance processes and improve their overall cybersecurity posture.

Compliance with regulatory and industry standards, such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, FedRAMP, and SSAE 16 SOC reporting, are a burdensome yet necessary part of doing business in the digital world. Organizations operating in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare and finance, face significant compliance challenges, especially when they must comply with multiple standards. HIPAA, for example, applies to any organization that handles medical records, including schools, collection agencies that handle medical debt, personal injury attorneys, and SaaS providers of healthcare software; meanwhile, these same organizations may also have to comply with PCI DSS, SSAE 16 reporting, SOX, and other applicable standards.

Organizations must figure out which standards apply to them, then continually keep up with reporting requirements, audits, and the inevitable changes in those standards as technology and the cyber threat environment evolve. It is estimated that regulatory compliance costs U.S. businesses about $2 trillion annually, and in a perverse twist, small business’s compliance costs are over three times higher than what large companies bear. This heavy burden helps explain why so many enterprise cyber security “plans” start and end with compliance, even though compliance does not equate to data security. It’s not necessarily that organizations don’t care about whether their data is secure, but that they spend so much money and time on compliance, there’s nothing left to tackle cyber security.

Fortunately, technology has made it possible for organizations to achieve compliance and secure their systems and data, at an affordable cost.

RegTech to the Rescue

One of the biggest problems in many organizations is the fact that their compliance processes – or the processes of their third-party compliance providers – are not automated. Some companies still use spreadsheet programs such as Excel for compliance reporting and audits, even though Excel was never meant to be used with the very large data sets produced by today’s complex data environments. But RegTech software, such as Continuum GRC’s IT Audit Machine (ITAM), can.

While the term “RegTech” is most commonly associated with the finance industry, RegTech solutions can be employed by any organization that must adhere to compliance standards, including healthcare, cloud computing, SaaS, education, and public-sector organizations. RegTech solutions utilize big data capabilities and rapid report creation to automate data management and reporting. Instead of multiple, disparate spreadsheets and ledgers, RegTech software creates a centralized repository of all IT compliance requirements with associated controls and automated information flows for audits, assessments, and testing.

Making Sense of Big Data

The big problem with big data is that it amounts to a lot of big noise unless you have the capability to analyze it and derive actionable insight from it. RegTech doesn’t just simplify your compliance processes; it also strengthens your enterprise’s cyber security by providing the advanced data analysis capabilities you need to make sense of your data environment and discover where your vulnerabilities lie. The ITAM, for example, integrates IT governance, policy management, risk management, and incident management. In addition to taking the pain out of the compliance process, it empowers you to document and analyze IT risks, develop mitigation plans, define security controls, and manage ongoing risk assessments so that you can anticipate new and emerging threats and stop them before a breach occurs.

RegTech is poised to transform IT governance, compliance, and cyber security. Organizations that employ this new technology will free up money, time, and human resources to innovate, create, and pursue long-term organizational goals instead of being bogged down in regulatory paperwork and worried about data breaches and other cyber attacks.

The cyber security experts at Lazarus Alliance have deep knowledge of the cyber security field, are continually monitoring the latest information security threats, and are committed to protecting organizations of all sizes from security breaches. We offer full-service risk assessment services and Continuum GRC software to protect companies from data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other cyber threats.

Lazarus Alliance is proactive cyber security®. Call 1-888-896-7580 to discuss your organization’s cyber security needs and find out how we can help your organization successfully simplify Governance, Risk, and Compliance, and secure your systems.

A recent report revealed that “More than 209,000 cyber security job postings in the U.S. are unfilled, and postings are up 74% over the past five years.”

Lazarus Alliance Cybervisor’s are the front line for the global business community bridging this critical cyber security job talent shortage.

Steve Morgan, a professional acquaintance who writes about cyber security for Forbes published One Million Cyber security Job Openings In 2016 and revealed some jaw-dropping statistics concerning the growing deficit in hiring qualified cyber security employees. To make matters worse, this chasm is exacerbated by the explosion of corporate breaches impacting and even decimating businesses in financials, education, business, government and especially healthcare.

A recent report revealed that “More than 209,000 cyber security jobs in the U.S. are unfilled, and postings are up 74% over the past five years, according to a Peninsula Press (a project of the Stanford University Journalism Program) 2015 analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” It is pretty clear that while there currently is not enough talent to go around; this is only getting exponentially worse.

Another report included “A report from Cisco puts the global figure at one million cyber security job openings. The demand for the (cybersecurity) workforce is expected to rise to 6 million (globally) by 2019, with a projected shortfall of 1.5 million” stated Michael Brown, CEO at Symantec, the world’s largest security software vendor.” This only turns up the anxiety level on companies who are scrambling to avoid being the “breach du jour”.

Compounding matters are that there is a significant increase in regulatory and compliance requirements across all industries. Every compliance framework out there went through major overhauls in 2015. In some cases as is the case for the SSAE 16; doubled in complexity. The situation just got more expensive and complex.

The only clear answers for businesses who want to remain viable in the global cyber threatscape come in the form of increased efficiencies and leveraged resources. Two of the best solutions that have emerged to address these challenges are:

Retain a Cybervisor®:

Retaining the help from dedicated and verifiable cyber security experts costs less than the expense of hiring just one (1) cyber security employee. And yes, that was a plural not singular expert. With professional Cybervisor services companies get the expertise of many seasoned experts who collaborate and stand together to support their clients.

Automation is Your Friend:

It’s time to work smarter and not harder! By utilizing automated cyber security and GRC tools, we have discovered that employees are so much more efficient and effective. In fact utilizing a tool like ITAM consistently makes the cyber security, GRC assessments and reporting processes a whopping 180% more efficient on average. When time is money, ITAM is like getting three (3) dedicated cyber security employees for less than the cost of one (1).

Learn more about Lazarus Alliance and why Lazarus Alliance is Proactive Cyber Security™.

We are excited that you are interested in this Lazarus Alliance Employment Opportunity. Please review these position highlights and complete the form below to initiate your consideration for employment.

Job Location:

Candidates must be United States citizens and reside within the continental United States to be considered.

Job Responsibilities:

In this position, you will be responsible for conducting IT audits, integrated IT/operations audits, Compliance testing and special projects as assigned. You will lead audits and deliver recommendations that add value to, and improve the efficiency of company operations.

All Lazarus Alliance employees are responsible for assisting in business development.

Responsibilities Include (but are not limited to):

• Plan and perform internal audits to assess control design and effectiveness for information systems and SOX controls testing as outlined in the Annual Internal Audit Plan.
• Supervise Information Systems Internal Audit engagements, as assigned.
• Prepare audit programs, work papers detailing audit procedures, and ensure adequate audit evidence in accordance with departmental and professional standards.
• Communicate audit findings and opportunities for improvement to management.
• Assist the external auditors, as applicable.
• Perform special projects of varying complexity and business focus as directed by Internal Audit Management. Provide IT audit assistance on financial, operational, and integrated audits.
• Act as a department liaison to various PetSmart business functions and committees as determined by Internal Audit Department Management.
• Develop and maintain relationships with various control owners and other constituents throughout the organization.
• Understand and assess the Information Systems (IS) business area objectives, risks and controls to ensure significant risks are identified and appropriate controls are established to reduce risk to an acceptable level.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of emerging professional standards, regulatory initiatives, and IT and retail industry trends and threats.

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, or other relevant analytical field.
• Minimum of 3 years experience in IS/IT audit, information security, and/or compliance.

Certification Required: One or more of the following certifications is required:

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) (Lazarus Alliance will sponsor QSA certification holders.)
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
• Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)
• Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

General Experience Required:

• Working knowledge of IS/IT Auditing and Internal Auditing concepts.
• Familiarity with some but preferably all of our core assessment frameworks including: PCI DSS, FedRAMP, HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley 404, SSAE 16, ISO 27000, Safe Harbor and CIP NERC standards and compliance requirements.
• Experience with internal control frameworks, professional audit standards, leading practices, security and trust models, and guidelines (e.g. HORSE, COSO, COBIT, NIST, ISO).
• Working knowledge of business management concepts (i.e. objectives, risks, and controls).
• Proven experience documenting and performing a full audit program to completion.
• Good understanding of technologies and controls including those related to OS, database, network, and application security.
• Ability to work effectively with all levels of management (technical and non-technical) and other colleagues, demonstrating strong initiative, mature judgment, professionalism, adaptability, and a customer service orientation.
• Must possess a “can-do” attitude with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proactive in researching business best practice concepts in order to apply as appropriate.
• Solid listening skills and ability to identify gaps in logic – inquisitive.
• Strong planning, organization and time management skills.
• Ability to work independently, productively and follow through on all responsibilities to bring projects to a successful conclusion.

Additional Training Provided by Lazarus Alliance:

Candidates will receive training in Lazarus Alliance proprietary technologies and methodologies unique to the industry including:

• The IT Audit Machine®
• The Policy Machine®
• Continuum®
• Your Personal CXO®
• The Security Trifecta®
• HORSE Project wiki®

About Lazarus Alliance:

Lazarus Alliance is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetics, and protected veteran status, as well as any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

Lazarus Alliance is Proactive Cyber Security®

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