Is your EQMS Designed and Built to Tackle Cybersecurity Risks?
Where there is data, there needs to high-levels of security! Whether stored in physical or digital files, the fear of theft and misuse has compelled businesses to find security solutions to keep them under lock and key. With the advent of modern technologies like cloud, AI and data analytics, there is greater access and availability of data. But, unfortunately, this has also increased cybersecurity risks.
Therefore, businesses need to have cutting-edge security solutions to proactively prevent attacks and threats. Further, regulatory requirements like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule also lay emphasis on protecting data and putting in enough controls to prevent leaks and breaches.
During the software development lifecycle, it is critical to plan defense mechanisms for edge cases – and proactive threat planning has become crucial. Security needs to be planned for right at the platform level. Of course, even if the platform is secure, software development teams need to build additional defenses to prevent data breaches and other security risks.
Cybersecurity Risks: The Big Five
According to Security Magazine, some of the emerging trends related to security include:
Increasing Attacks in the Cloud: Several businesses are relying on the default security provided by the cloud service provider. This is inadequate and requires businesses to bolster their data and apps with security focused on their services.
Mobile - A Chink in the Armor: Mobiles have become a popular means to access apps and complete critical functions because of the convenience of accessing them from anywhere, anytime. However, weak security links provide threat actors with loopholes to enter corporate systems and introduce malicious ware.
IoT - Another Sweet Spot: Internet of Things (IoT) devices too are vulnerable to security threats and allow data theft and malware infection into corporate systems.
High-volume Data: In the case of software applications that handle a high-volume of data, we’re seeing security lapses while data is being streamed in to the application.
User Loopholes: Phishing, social engineering, and other such techniques lead to leveraging user vulnerability for security breaches and data leaks.
Additionally, hackers are constantly innovating and ML/AI systems are also being leveraged by attackers to improve the viciousness of their attacks. IT security teams relying on outdated methods cannot protect the data and their system under such circumstances.
The need of the hour is the following:
- Proactively plan defense mechanisms and build security layers at all levels
- Spot vulnerabilities and prioritize security measures
- Provide necessary cybersecurity training to users
- Cybersecurity needs to planned both at the platform level and application layer
- Look for continuous improvement by conducting periodic security audits
- Choose a software application (or vendor) that is innovating on cybersecurity
- While the IT team must have a dedicated person looking after security, it is also critical to choose a software system that is built for security
What does all this mean for Quality and Compliance leaders? Why are we talking about it here at ComplianceQuest? The reason is simple: Enterprises are often choosing QMS vendors based only on functionality, without looking into their security capabilities. This would be a big mistake. Leaders who are involved in the process of choosing a QMS software, must choose a vendor that is proactively addressing cybersecurity risks.
Choosing an EQMS Solution that is Highly-secure
Given the increasing threat to the organization’s data and systems, software applications must not only have the right features but also relevant security measures in place. Poor security can result in several attacks including Phishing, DDoS, malware, data theft, etc.
It is not enough if the cloud service provider has implemented a best-of-class security solution. Each company must invest in security (the IT team must evaluate all vendors) and also ensure that the software they license provides them with the needed security capabilities.
ComplianceQuest EQMS is a feature-rich QMS platform that helps businesses with a modern, end-to-end quality management system that uses the power of data and AI to improve quality performance.
It integrates seamlessly with enterprise software such as ERP, HRM, and CRM, to cull out data holistically and assess risks to operations and business. It automates the quality management process to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity while lowering costs of quality.
But equally importantly, it takes security seriously. Therefore, it has all the necessary certifications and protectionary measures for improved compliance with security regulations and ensures data privacy and security.
- SFDC Certifications: ComplianceQuest is a 100% native force.com application suite, built and run on the Salesforce platform. Therefore, the EQMS suite inherits all attributes of the Salesforce platform such as:
- Trusted Security
- Always On
- Performance At Scale
- Application Innovation
- Multi-Tenant Infrastructure
- Built on the Proven Salesforce Platform: It is compliant with a comprehensive set of certifications and attestations available on Salesforce. Our solution is compliant with various standards including FISMA, SSAE 16 (formerly SAS 70), ISO 27001, PCI-DSS Level 1, Safe Harbor & TRUSTe.
- ISO 9001 and SOC 2 Certified: ComplianceQuest is ISO 9001 and SOC 2 certified, which validates our commitment to quality processes as well as security.
- ISO 9001 is an international standard for the quality management system (“QMS”) that requires compliance and demonstrates the ability of CQ EQMS to consistently provide products and services to meet customer and regulatory requirements with continuous improvement. This includes process improvements and protecting data from cyber risks.
- CQ EQMS is SOC 2 certified, asserting that we are a security-conscious business and periodically audit our systems to ensure that we securely manage your data to protect the interests of your organization and the privacy of your clients. SOC 2 compliance is a minimal requirement when considering a SaaS provider and was developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). It defines criteria for managing customer data based on five “trust service principles”—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
- We are also compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), data governance, and data security requirements. At ComplianceQuest, we’re making continual adjustments and improvements to ensure we are best positioned to meet our legal obligations and data privacy requirements. We assist our customers to protect and have more control over both organizational and personal data while leveraging native capabilities on the Salesforce platform.
Specifically, we leverage several technologies including Salesforce Shield and Salesforce Data Mask to help organizations comply with protecting PII.
To know more and request a demo, visit: https://www.compliancequest.com/lp/eqms/
