Cybersecurity is the most important priority for every business, but especially for SaaS companies. SaaS companies operate primarily in the cloud and often become targets for hackers.
Cybercriminals know cloud-based software companies host all kinds of personal data belonging to thousands, if not millions of users worldwide. Gaining access to those large pools of data is a hacker’s dream. Unfortunately, that dream becomes a reality for hackers when companies fail to implement strong cybersecurity measures.
Cybersecurity isn’t just a priority – it’s a legal requirement
Cybersecurity isn’t optional. Every business that stores, handles, or transmits personal information is required to meet certain data privacy laws. Some companies are required to meet multiple sets of data security standards under multiple regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, CJIS, the New York SHIELD Act, and ISO standards.
While HIPAA governs the protection of healthcare data in the U.S., GDPR governs the use of data belonging to EU citizens, yet applies to the entire world. Similarly, ISO standards govern various aspects of cybersecurity in ecommerce, which includes SaaS providers.
ISO standards matter just as much as GDPR
In recent years, there has been a huge buzz about GDPR almost to the exclusion of all other regulations. However, meeting ISO standards is just as important as being GDPR-compliant.
If you aren’t familiar with the ISO standards applicable to SaaS and ecommerce businesses, you can get ISO standards from the iTeh Standards site. You’ll want to get copies of the following standards:
- ISO 27001. This ISO standard governs security processes concerning financial information.
- ISO 27017. This ISO standard expands on existing cloud security regulations from another ISO standard (27002). However, specific security measures were created for cloud environments.
- ISO 27018. This ISO standard governs how organizations process personal information.
- ISO 22301. This ISO standard mandates a business continuity strategy to mitigate the damage from downtime and loss of service.
These are the ISO standards you’re expected to meet in your organization. If you don’t meet these requirements, your organization is subject to penalties or worse. If a data breach occurs and non-compliance is found to be the cause, your business could end up going bankrupt paying the fines.
Why organizations are getting ISO-certified
When it comes to cybersecurity, certifications aren’t just for show; they represent a real, verifiable presence of proper security measures.
Businesses get ISO-certified for two reasons. First, being certified tells customers the organization takes privacy seriously. Customers know that when a company gets certified, their adherence to security regulations has been verified.
Second, the certification process improves compliance. it’s not enough to simply try to follow the guidelines set by the ISO. Unless your organization goes through the certification process, it’s hard to know if you’re actually compliant.
During the certification process, an auditor will review your security posture and let you know how you can make changes to become compliant. They’ll see things you won’t catch and point things out that you aren’t even aware need to change.
Getting compliant can prevent costly data breaches
Data breaches are expensive, with the average cost in 2017 reported to be $3.62 million. Most data breaches are caused by user error; usually small oversights and mistakes. When you’re compliant, you’re less susceptible to data breaches. It’s that simple.
The best way to get ISO-compliant is to hire a professional
Compliance requirements are detailed, nuanced, and require a high-level of cybersecurity knowledge to implement. Meeting these guidelines isn’t something you can do alone; you need an IT security team to help.
One of the most popular cybersecurity recommendations you’ll get is to use AI-powered automated threat detection. Most SaaS cyber attacks are perpetrated by hackers using VPN, Tor software, and dynamic DNS to hide their tracks. This makes it hard for traditional detection methods to catch cybercriminals.
AI-powered threat detection will analyze all authorized users to learn their unique patterns so that if anything is off – like unusual login times and locations – it will be further analyzed and eventually intercepted if it’s deemed a threat.
Get evaluated, certified, and keep testing
To avoid the consequences of a data breach, have a professional evaluate your cybersecurity posture. Once you have a basic level of cybersecurity in place, get an ISO audit to find out where you need to improve to get ISO-certified. Then get certified.
Most importantly, stay on top of your security game. You might be secure today, yet discover a vulnerability tomorrow. Cybersecurity is an ongoing process.
