6 Attributes to Look for in a GRC Platform – Source: securityboulevard.com

Cybersecurity and compliance are two of the most daunting aspects of modern enterprises. There are a number of reasons for this. First, both compliance and cybersecurity risk can be difficult to keep up with. On one hand, there is an endless stream of evolving cybersecurity threats hammering businesses from all sides; on the other, regulation is not set in stone. Regulators continue to make adjustments to existing regulations; they can introduce new rules based on industry input and their own priorities. Second, there are a lot of repetitive tasks involved (as well as a lot of paperwork) to collect evidence. Third, there’s an overwhelming amount of information that needs to be monitored and analyzed. There is also a shortage of skilled people who can understand and implement these standards correctly. And since most people shy away from policies, one needs to have clear and demonstrable metrics on hand to explain why certain processes and standards are being implemented. Lastly, 60% of businesses work with a thousand or more suppliers. From a compliance perspective, managing such a vast ecosystem of vendors can be daunting.

Although governance, risk and compliance (GRC) tools have been in use for quite a while, many are clunky and slow. Organizations need an automated and consolidated approach to risk management that not only improves compliance management practices but also boosts the overall security posture. If your business is on the lookout for a new GRC platform to replace your traditional tools, ensure you keep the following attributes in mind:

1. Everything in a Single Location

If you’re running vendor assessments, contract management, IT assets etc., and you’re storing all this data in siloed systems, then it can be difficult to maintain and analyze information. At the end of the month, people may ask, “What is this metric?”, “Where did we get it from?”, “Why doesn’t everything add up?” In contrast, if everything’s tied into one platform, then everything is cataloged. Automation ensures that data sources are updated regularly and all information is available through a single source of truth.

2. Support for Automation

Penetration testing is important. You want to make sure risks are being monitored and updated and that security events are analyzed in real-time. Vendor surveys should be created and distributed monthly, quarterly and annually to all relevant stakeholders. A modern GRC tool should be able to automate repeatable workflows—in the absence of this functionality, it is likely outdated.

3. Availability of Integrations

Integrations are crucial to automation. For instance, the system should integrate with single sign-on so that participants can easily sign in, read the policy, attend training, take the quiz and receive the completion certificate. You want integrations with endpoint security, security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR), email and web security and business intelligence software (like JIRA, Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.), so that compliance teams can pull data and evidence directly from those systems, monitor and analyze it centrally and prove to auditors that the organization is meeting all its compliance requirements. In the absence of the availability of such integrations and APIs, it can be difficult to analyze and report on the progress of compliance programs.

4. Ease of Use

Let’s say you are audited, or you need to demonstrate how well you’re adhering to a particular compliance requirement or standard. Being able to export that evidentiary data into a format that’s easily accessible by anyone including an auditor is really valuable. In the end, it’s all about perception and confidence. If you run a tight ship and can demonstrate this to auditors as soon as they come in, they’re more likely to get off your back. You’ve conveyed a sense of calm and confidence in the organization and in the person that’s helping them. Similarly, if the tool offers ready-made templates and allows data to be presented in a way that normal people understand, then this can go far in demonstrating progress and success to your management teams and employees.

5. Simpler Input

Risks to an organization are, well, risky. The input of risks into a GRC system can’t be blindly automated, they need to be evaluated. Once the risk is identified and in place in the system, an action plan can be designed around it. Then, you can automate the chasing and the follow-up and then the reporting. While inputting risks into the GRC platform is usually a manual process, it is important to ensure that the tool allows it to be as friction-free and as simple as possible.

6. Augmented by AI

Most traditional GRC systems provide a few tools to monitor and report on compliance and cybersecurity. That said, they often place the burden of discovery and analysis of security events on cybersecurity and compliance teams. This can be both time-consuming and error-prone. Modern GRC platforms have evolved, leveraging AI to help detect anomalies in large amounts of data and use machine learning technology to streamline and automate the day-to-day processes organizations have.

We all know that 100% security isn’t possible. It’s all about risk acceptance. And to achieve a manageable level of risk acceptance, you need to make people understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and the value you bring to the organization. Having an automated, integrated and AI-augmented approach to GRC can go a long way in making security and compliance more understandable as well as instilling confidence in stakeholders and auditors that the security team is doing everything it can to make the organization more compliant and resilient to cybersecurity threats and breaches.