Libby Bevin

Achieving SOC 2 compliance demonstrates to customers that your organization takes data security and privacy seriously. The journey to achieve SOC 2 compliance, however, is not easy. 

For example, when you perform a preliminary assessment to determine your current state of security, you’re likely to find multiple gaps between that current state and what SOC 2 standards expect you to have. You’ll need to close those gaps to achieve full SOC 2 compliance.

Some common problem areas include:

• Lack of continuous data or system access monitoring, which allows policy violations between audits.
• Weak identity and access controls that rely only on annual review, rather than constant visibility.
• Failure to repeat risk assessments when launching new services, features, or architecture components.

All three of the above examples have a common theme: infrequent audits or risk assessments, which lets problems emerge between those audits or risk assessments — problems that might go undetected for months. 

The solution lies in continuous readiness assessments and internal testing between audit intervals. Repeated analyses can confirm that existing vulnerabilities have been addressed, while uncovering new cybersecurity risks and gaps in SOC 2 compliance that need your prompt attention.

Ways to Identify SOC 2 Compliance Gaps

Automated scanning and manual review are two primary methods to find gaps in SOC 2 compliance. The goal is to compare your controls against a comprehensive checklist based on guidelines from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the body that developed the SOC 2 standard. 

Of the two methods, automated scanning is more efficient and reliable. Once the scanning tool finishes its work, it delivers a detailed report documenting areas satisfying SOC 2 standards and those needing remediation.

Critical advantages of scanning include:

• Speed and efficiency
• Thorough, consistent analysis of internal controls
• Clear visibility revealing precise information security and compliance improvement areas

The main limitation of scanning is the need to invest in specialized auditing software. The improved accuracy and efficiency, however, typically offset this cost.

You could also rely on a manual review by a certified public accountant (CPA) firm or an internal audit team, but manual review has several drawbacks:

• Consumes extensive internal service provider resources
• Leaves room for inconsistencies or oversights in customer data protections
• Lacks independent attestation validating security controls

Manual review might seem cheaper at first, but the expense of staff time and compliance uncertainties make this a riskier approach.

Regardless of the approach you choose, it’s essential to systematically review organization controls against SOC 2 criteria so that you can address the gaps you uncover. By identifying specific weak spots, you can develop more targeted remediation efforts. 

Nurture a Culture of SOC 2 Compliance

Organizations should embed SOC 2 audit readiness as an ongoing governance priority for your whole organization. This cultural shift for sustained compliance sets the stage for more streamlined, sustainable audits.

Practices that support perpetual SOC 2 alignment include:

Security policies. Map your information security and access policies to SOC 2’s Trust Services Criteria (TSC) and top standards such as ISO 27001.

Remediation practices. When triaging and scoping remediation work, prioritize risks and control gaps that threaten alignment. 

Internal controls. Optimize technical, administrative, and physical controls to meet AICPA audit expectations and certifications.

Stakeholder awareness. Keep leadership and other stakeholders informed about alignment initiatives through executive reports and risk metrics.

Risk assessments. Tailor your assessment models to identify risks relevant to key SOC 2 domains: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.

Regulatory overlaps. Identify complementary regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which share foundations in data protection best practices reflected in SOC 2. Where overlap exists, you might be able to satisfy multiple regulatory obligations with one control.

This organizational commitment across people, processes, and technology sustains compliance continuity rather than temporary audit preparation. The payoff: less scrambling to satisfy compliance obligations, and more security assurance for customers.

Continuous Monitoring for SOC 2

Achieving initial SOC 2 compliance is only one milestone; you still need to maintain adequate control throughout the year until your next SOC 2 audit. A continuous monitoring strategy is essential to avoid emerging gaps threatening security, privacy, and SOC 2 compliance over time.

• Custom assessments. Build questionnaires and readiness checks based on the specific SOC 2 criteria applicable to your environment and controls.
• Attack surface detection. Employ solutions that dynamically detect the risks and excessive permission requests that threaten SOC 2 compliance. Look for those threats across users, data, devices, and other attack vectors.
• Control tracking. Establish centralized mechanisms to maintain visibility into control operations, changes, risk metrics, and other indicators of potential audit issue areas.
• Policy attestations. Require periodic acknowledgments by your workforce to confirm their understanding of updated policies, procedures, and responsibilities related to SOC compliance.
• Risk analysis. On an ongoing basis, gauge compliance gaps and potential impacts through threat modeling, audits by CPA firms, and identification of regulatory overlap with frameworks like ISO 27001.

Continuous visibility identifies problems early, when they are most straightforward to correct. Waiting for the next 12-month audit window to analyze controls almost guarantees unexpected gaps or failed standards. Active monitoring demonstrates the security and compliance requirements rigor auditors expect.

Frameworks and Regulations That Map to SOC 2

While SOC 2 provides standards for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy, other frameworks such as ISO 27001, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and HIPAA reinforce good data protection practices. Many of their control requirements tie back to SOC 2 principles.

Mapping where these standards overlap allows organizations to take an integrated approach to compliance. Unified coverage of shared control objectives and policy standards helps streamline adherence across multiple regulations.

Some areas of crossover include:

• Risk management methodologies
• Access governance for sensitive information
• Protecting the confidentiality of sensitive data
• Safeguarding the privacy of individuals
• Guidelines for third-party vendors’ assurance
• Security measures such as encryption
• Aligning security with business objectives

Jointly addressing these overlaps, instead of tackling each one separately, eases the compliance process. It also strengthens overall security posture through layered regulatory reinforcing of cybersecurity best practices.

ZenGRC Helps Organizations Meet Their Compliance Goals

Tools such as ZenGRC give companies built-in frameworks for SOC 2 and other audits, streamlining compliance. With ZenGRC, organizations can store evidence, track remediation, and document controls to demonstrate compliance to auditors and customers. 

Schedule a demo today to see how ZenGRC can help your company prepare for ongoing SOC 2 audits.

As data breaches and cyberattacks become more widespread, most businesses are making information security and data privacy a top priority. That means they want to know whether your business can be trusted with their sensitive information.

SOC 2 compliance is one of the most effective methods to instill that confidence.

SOC 2 Compliance Explained

SOC 2 (formally known as a Report on Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, or Privacy) is an independent attestation report that service providers can give to customers to demonstrate the provider’s cybersecurity control environment.

Unlike regulatory standards such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the SOC 2 framework as a voluntary cybersecurity framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Any service provider can use it, and many do.

To demonstrate SOC 2 compliance, organizations must create a compliant cybersecurity program and submit to an audit from a certified public accountant (CPA). That auditor reviews and tests the cybersecurity controls per the SOC 2 standard and then reports on his or her findings.

The result: instead of your organization filling out lengthy cybersecurity questionnaires from every would-be customer that comes along, you have a single, comprehensive SOC 2 report that sales teams can present to potential clients to demonstrate your cybersecurity posture. 

Even though people commonly talk about “SOC 2 certification,” SOC 2 is actually an attestation. SOC 2 compliance audits do not confirm that a specific company has met the standard; instead, the report reflects what the auditor observed in the organization’s security program.

Benefits of Compliance with SOC 2

While a SOC 2 is not required by law (there are no fines for noncompliance), potential clients frequently request to view your SOC 2 report before agreeing to do business with you. 

Here are three reasons a SOC 2 report is critical for you and your clients.

Building a Strong Reputation

If you manage, process, or handle client data, your customers must trust you before they’ll be comfortable doing business with you. SOC 2 provides that comfort.

This is critical because if you have a data breach that affects your customer’s data (or their customers’ data), their business will also suffer. SOC 2 compliance demonstrates to your stakeholders that you have taken steps to avoid an attack and keep their data secure. 

New Business Opportunities

SOC 2 compliance not only helps you establish your trustworthiness to clients and partners. It can also open the door to agreements that need a SOC 2.

Many companies, particularly in North America, will demand to see a vendor’s SOC 2 before agreeing to engage with them. Without a SOC 2 report, your sales prospects may abandon a nearly completed contract.

Even if your prospects don’t require a SOC 2, having one can still give you a competitive advantage. A SOC 2 report assures clients and potential customers that their data will be more secure with your systems than with rivals’ systems that aren’t SOC 2 compliant.

Secure Infrastructure 

A SOC 2 can help you to build a robust information security architecture. As you prepare for your audit, you’ll put in place the best practices and measures to reduce the chance of a data breach and the costly implications that come with it.

According to IBM security, the typical data breach these days costs $4.45 million. Those costs include compensating staff to offset the breach, paying regulatory fines or penalties, and losing income when consumers shift to other providers. Furthermore, a breach will harm your brand’s reputation in the long run.

Common Challenges to SOC 2 Compliance

SOC 2 compliance might be daunting for small and medium-sized businesses, but it is achievable. As with other business operations, you should know ahead of time what problems you might face, so that you can plan accordingly. The three significant challenges of achieving SOC compliance are as follows.

Time Constraints

SOC 2 compliance cannot be completed overnight. It involves extensive planning, preparation, documentation, testing, and auditing. 

You must devote a substantial amount of time and resources so that your policies, procedures, and controls are aligned with the SOC 2 requirements, properly implemented, and regularly monitored.

The time required to complete the process is determined by how mature your existing security processes are and how much time your team can devote to compliance efforts. (Assume it will take months, at least.)

SOC 2 Budgeting

SOC 2 compliance is not cheap, and determining the commitment (in both time and money) may be difficult. You will need to invest in various tools, technologies, and services to help you achieve and maintain compliance over time.  

For example, you may need to acquire or upgrade security software, employ external consultants or auditors, invest in compliance automation tools, and pay for penetration testing services. You must recruit security and compliance experts and perhaps launch a security operations center.

Skills Required for SOC 2

Your staff cannot manage SOC 2 compliance as a side job. Understanding and implementing SOC 2 standards and best practices will require high security and operational competence.  

You must also instill security awareness and accountability among your employees, vendors, and partners. You’ll need to teach them how to manage sensitive data and report and respond to events or difficulties.

Best Practices for Maintaining SOC 2 Compliance

Maintaining SOC 2 compliance requires methods similar to any other cybersecurity framework. Most of the best practices for general regulatory compliance, such as PCI DSS, GDPR, or NIST compliance, may be used for SOC 2 compliance while taking specific factors into account.

Periodic Requirements

Once you achieve SOC 2 compliance, you must then make periodic reports to confirm that your IT systems remain in SOC 2 compliance. This means your business must test its controls and collect data according to the rules and the cycle outlined in the original SOC 2 report.

For example, assume that your business’s policies and procedures need quarterly logical access checks. In such instances, you must provide quarterly documentation that the evaluations were completed throughout the past year.

Employee Training

As a company-wide goal, employees must be informed of the specific security policies that must be followed. So your organization must design a clear and straightforward employee training approach.

Continuous Compliance

Continuous compliance is the steady, ongoing reviewing of your company’s security posture to verify that it still fulfills all regulatory requirements and industry best practices. Continuous compliance helps to speed the audit process by informing you about your compliance requirements during the year, something a yearly audit alone cannot do. 

In other words, continuous compliance keeps you secure on a daily basis by warning you of noncompliance issues in real-time. It keeps you updated on industry norms and regulations and ensures everyone in your business complies.

This approach assures that IT, HR, and all other departments are aligned on their security practices and responsibilities. That said, ongoing compliance requires time, energy, and leadership focus.

Achieving Continuous Compliance for SOC 2

Although it takes work to reach SOC 2 compliance, the effort is worth it. Here are some of the essential procedures that will help you get there.

Identify and Understand Compliance Standards

The first step toward ongoing compliance is determining what you must comply with. SOC 2 is available to all, but many businesses must comply with similar cybersecurity standards as well. 

• Healthcare organizations must follow HIPAA regulations.
• Businesses that serve EU citizens must comply with GDPR.
• Retailers processing credit card transactions must comply with PCI DSS.
• Cloud service providers should comply with SOC 2.

Once you’ve determined which standards apply to you, you can align your security practices to those criteria. When faced with multiple frameworks (which is quite common), mapping the requirements of each standard will assist in reducing duplication.

Perform a Risk Assessment and Establish Controls

Once you understand what compliance entails, you can assess how near you are to attaining it.

First, examine every IT asset, system, process, and third-party interaction affecting compliance.

Then assess the compliance gaps identified by this audit.

Finally, implement the necessary controls to address the gaps and bring your business into compliance. These restrictions are not necessarily technical. They might be new procedures or even simple improvements to training programs.

Monitor Continuously and Act Quickly

With controls in place, you must monitor compliance every minute of every day; it never stops. This never-ending procedure is challenging to complete manually so you’ll need systems that can monitor all controls automatically. 

Machine learning can use activity records to define “normal” and identify unexpected activities. Alerts and notifications can inform the control’s owner of the appropriate steps.

Document and Communicate Everything

Keep track of every decision and incident that occurs during the compliance process. Apply what you’ve learned to make better decisions and plan for the future.

Documentation also helps individuals understand how their activities affect compliance — and how noncompliance affects the firm! That matters since compliance ownership is not centralized in the IT department. Everyone has specific duties that they must understand and accept.

Continuous Compliance and Automation

Automation eliminates the headache of compliance and allows you to transition from seasonal audits to ongoing monitoring. Continuous compliance detects weaknesses before they become problems, eliminating the requirement for all hands on deck during audit fire drills.

Implementing continuous compliance automation to handle all of an organization’s compliance management responsibilities provides relief to process owners. Keeping track of all regulatory and policy modifications can be onerous when done manually. An automated continuous compliance monitoring system offers:

• Complete insight over cloud assets
• Cyber attack surface management
• Automatic process controls
• Continuous monitoring of resources and settings
• A method that prevents vulnerabilities
• Automated warnings and notifications every time an unusual occurs

The correct solution for continuous compliance monitoring and visibility enables firms to reduce asset complexity while continually monitoring them for compliance.

ZenGRC is Your Continuous Compliance Solution

SOC 2 was developed initially for technology service companies, but it has since become a benchmark for every organization doing business online, especially those with data centers. Failure to comply sets a bad precedent and warns consumers they cannot trust you to protect their data.

Enterprise compliance can be complex to handle manually and time-consuming for outdated systems. At that level, spreadsheets simply cannot handle the number of moving pieces associated with your company’s many types of compliance. 

ZenGRC simplifies SOC 2 certification by walking you through the framework step by step, allowing you to become audit-ready in record time.

Our “single source of truth” dashboard identifies compliance weaknesses in your infrastructure and describes how to fix them before your next audit. ZenGRC may help you save time and money by delivering audit information in an easy-to-understand format when choosing an auditor.

ZenGRC can support a variety of compliance frameworks and cross-check goals across many platforms, easing compliance activities and freeing up your compliance staff to focus on other aspects of the company.

If you want to witness ZenGRC, please contact us for a free demo.

Self-attestations are an increasingly popular tool for cybersecurity compliance frameworks such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) directives. 

The idea is that organizations attest to meeting specific security controls and requirements without third-party validation. For any frameworks that encourage the practice, attestation involves gathering the evidence you need to substantiate the compliance claims you make. 

While self-attestation can provide certain benefits in flexibility and cost, it has challenges too. Foremost, you need robust evidence-collection processes to support attestations across various standards and regulations. Organizations must navigate those challenges as part of a comprehensive self-attestation compliance program.

What Does Self-Attestation in Compliance Mean?

Self-attestation in the cybersecurity realm simply means an organization asserts that it meets the expectations outlined in a particular framework or regulation. Typically, software producers provide letters to federal agencies asserting that their software products meet the latest cybersecurity standards and best practices.

Key compliance frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework provide a common language and mechanism for self-attesting to implement cybersecurity best practices. Government directives including Executive Order 14028 also call for self-attestation around software security.

While self-attestation places accountability on vendors, federal customers can also request evidence such as independent component analysis, config scans, penetration tests, and audits.

By attesting to cyber secure development, vendors assure federal agencies that the vendors’ software is trustworthy and aligned to the latest cybersecurity standards.

Benefits of Self-Attestation

There are several potential benefits to self-attestation in compliance:

1. Lower compliance costs. Self-attesting avoids the cost of an external assessment, making security standards more attainable for software vendors, especially smaller firms. 
2. Speed. Self-attestation allows software providers to validate against secure development standards on their timelines, rather than relying on scheduled outside audits. This supports more agile security processes.
3. Flexibility. While popular frameworks do provide a common baseline, self-attestation allows the customization of evidence and compliance approaches based on each vendor’s unique business model and risk profile.
4. Software supply chain visibility. Since federal agencies can request supporting evidence such as a software bill of materials (SBOM), component analysis, and security test results, self-attestation improves visibility across the software supply chain.

Overall, self-attestation puts accountability onto software vendors to implement secure development practices as defined by government baseline standards. This both reduces procurement costs for federal customers and encourages more secure coding across the commercial software industry.

Examples of Attestation Required by Frameworks

Many cybersecurity regulations and frameworks either recommend or require self-attestation.

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Organizations can self-attest to implement the various controls and safeguards NIST outlines. This helps establish a cyber risk management baseline.
• CISA directive. In directives such as Binding Operational Directive 22-01, CISA calls for federal agencies to attest to meeting certain software security standards around NIST SSDF.
• OMB M-22-09. This memorandum from the federal Office of Management and Budget requires software providers to self-attest that they follow secure software development practices under EO 14028. The memo relies on NIST definitions and guidance to define those best practices.

How Self-Attestation Works in Regulatory Compliance Processes

The self-attestation process generally involves three main steps within an overall compliance program:

1. Establishing a baseline. The organization adapts standards and safeguards from relevant cyber frameworks and regulations to its specific context and risk profile. This becomes the tailored baseline for attestation.
2. Self-assessing against the baseline. The organization performs frequent self-assessments using the adapted security controls and software practices to gauge conformance and track gaps that require remediation.
3. Attesting to compliance. Using evidence collected internally through the self-review process, the organization drafts, reviews, approves, and archives formal attestation statements asserting compliance against the baseline. 

Evidence Collection for Attestation

Organizations should gather adequate evidence to support software security attestation claims if required by federal customers. Useful examples include:

• Secure coding standards and practices
• Vulnerability scan reports
• Software composition analysis documents
• Third-party component inventories
• Developer training records
• Penetration test results
• Configuration monitoring records

Whether obtained internally or from an external audit, this evidence can substantiate that your company has indeed implemented the expected secure development practices across your software development life cycle (SDLC). 

Types of Evidence That Are Relevant to Attestation

Some evidence sources carry more weight for validating software security self-attestation claims:

• External audits. Independent cybersecurity audit reports offer the highest reliability, providing factual third-party confirmation of security controls.
• Internal artifacts. Documentation such as secure coding policies, vulnerability logs, composition analysis reports, and developer training records provide visibility into security processes.
• Observed processes. Direct evidence such as visual confirmation of practices through onsite assessment or demos can supplement documentation. Open-source software, in particular, benefits from observable practices.
• Limited self-assertions. While verbal claims alone have less reliability, they can be strengthened by correlating evidence documentation. Signed self-attestation forms demonstrate accountability.

To substantiate attestation claims, NIST recommends software producers compile multi-factor evidence from reliable sources including independent audits, documentation, and directly observed processes.

Challenges of Self-Attestation in Compliance

Software security self-attestation does pose several challenges that producers must navigate, especially when selling to the federal government.

• They can overstate your security posture without independent validation or Third-Party Assessor Organizations (3PAOs) performing oversight.
• It’s sometimes difficult to collect comprehensive self-attestation from evidence across disparate systems, environments, and supply chain dependencies. Significant time, tools, and discipline are needed.
• They bring accountability risks if significant software vulnerabilities emerge after self-assessment compliance.
• You might be unclear on priorities for security control improvements without external audit findings. That leads to more work to develop a Plan of Action (POA&Ms) and hit milestones.

To succeed at self-attestations, organizations must implement robust processes for firm-wide cybersecurity self-assessments, evidence gathering, and continuous software improvement. Self-attestations do work, but independent audits can validate attestation rigor.

Evidence Collection and More is Made Easy with ZenGRC

Organizations often leverage governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platforms such as ZenGRC to help tackle those self-attestation challenges. 

Purpose-built for compliance, ZenGRC automates policy and evidence management, controls testing, reporting, questionnaires, and other GRC processes onto a single intuitive platform. 

Request a demo today to learn more about self-attestation in cyber compliance and how ZenGRC can help!

Governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) are crucial activities for any modern organization. Implementing an effective GRC program, however, is easier said than done. The first and most critical step: defining clear roles and responsibilities so people know what they’re supposed to do to further your GRC 

A well-structured GRC team facilitates collaboration across departments, leverages cross-functional expertise, and drives consistency in managing governance, risk, and compliance. 

In this blog, we will clarify the key roles in GRC and guide you on structuring your GRC teams to help centralize GRC processes.

What are the Roles in GRC?

GRC functions include a variety of roles, each tailored to specific aspects of an organization’s GRC framework. Understanding these roles can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your GRC program.

• GRC/risk manager. This central figure leads the GRC program, focusing on risk assessment and risk management strategies, and communicating risk and compliance information across the organization.
• Internal auditors.  Internal Auditors scrutinize compliance with regulations and internal policies. They help to assure that your internal controls work as intended and that no risks go overlooked. 
• Information security professionals. Tasked with safeguarding organizational data, these experts manage IT systems, implement cybersecurity measures, and support the integrity of data security practices.
• Legal and compliance officers. These people interpret and navigate the complex landscape of regulatory requirements, assuring that the organization complies with applicable laws and standards.
• Business unit leaders. Engaged directly in operational activities, business unit leaders conduct risk assessments and assure that their teams adhere to established GRC policies and procedures.
• Senior executives. Senior management provides overall governance so that GRC efforts align with the organization’s strategic objectives and foster a culture of compliance and risk awareness.

Effective GRC management hinges on the seamless collaboration among these roles. By fostering an environment of cross-functional communication and shared responsibility, organizations can achieve a comprehensive and integrated approach to managing enterprise risk and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Do I Need to Build a GRC Team?

Whether you need a GRC team depends on several factors unique to every organization. For example, consider your organization’s size, the complexity of the regulatory environments that apply to your business, and the strategic importance of strong risk management to your objectives. 

Here’s a closer look at indicators that suggest the need for a  GRC team.

Regulatory and Framework Requirements

Operating in highly regulated industries or across multiple jurisdictions often requires heightened attention to compliance. For example, a global organization might need to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States, and numerous ISO standards for business efficiency. 

A dedicated GRC team assures that your organization meets these regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of penalties associated with non-compliance.

Strategic Business Objectives

Aligning risk management and compliance efforts with your business goals is crucial for sustainable growth. A GRC team can provide the framework and oversight needed so that risk management processes support and align with your strategic objectives rather than serve as a bottleneck.

Scale and Complexity of Operations

As organizations grow, so do the complexity of their operations and the risks they face. A dedicated GRC team can help manage this complexity by implementing consistent risk assessment methodologies, compliance frameworks, and internal audits across all business units. 

How to Structure a GRC Team

Here are some common ways to organize a GRC team:

• Centralized. GRC roles sit within one department and oversee company-wide activities.
• Distributed. GRC responsibilities are embedded within each business unit. The central GRC team provides oversight, but not direct involvement and control.
• Hybrid. A central GRC team works with representatives from each business unit or geography.
• Outsourced. External consultants are brought in to supplement internal GRC staff. Useful for specialized knowledge.

Tracking Roles and Responsibilities in GRC

Managing enterprise-wide GRC activities requires tracking and coordinating responsibilities across multiple stakeholders. A “RACI matrix” provides a useful framework by identifying who is:

• Responsible: Owns a specific task and deliverable
• Accountable: Has final decision authority
• Consulted: Provides input on activities
• Informed: Must be notified of outcomes

Documenting these roles in a RACI matrix strengthens accountability. GRC software also assists with tracking by providing real-time dashboards, notifications, and metrics on the status of risk assessments, audits, compliance initiatives, and remediation tasks.

With defined roles coordinated via tools such as automated workflows and reminders, organizations can optimize cross-functional collaboration on GRC activities so that critical tasks are completed and everyone can see the state of your compliance posture. Tracking roles and leveraging GRC technology improves accountability, issue resolution, and program governance.

What is the GRC Capability Model?

The GRC Capability Model provides a template for organizations to assess and enhance their GRC functions. 

This model guides businesses in integrating GRC processes into their operations, optimizing risk management, and assuring that regulatory compliance meets industry standards. It evaluates capabilities across these key areas:

• Governance: Leadership, oversight, strategic alignment
• Culture and communications: Training, awareness building
• Program administration: Planning, resource allocation, metrics
• Risk management: Risk identification, assessments, treatment
• Compliance management: Regulatory analysis, controls, audits

Organizations can use this model to identify gaps and strengthen GRC capabilities.

How to Implement an Effective GRC Strategy

Implementing an effective GRC strategy requires breaking down silos and integrating activities across the enterprise to gain organization-wide visibility.

Key steps include:

• Establish executive oversight and regular GRC reporting processes for governance and accountability.
• Map internal controls and processes to applicable regulations and frameworks such as ISO 31000 or National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) frameworks.
• Automate workflows for efficiency whenever possible. This could include control testing, policy attestations, risk surveys, compliance audits, and so forth.
• Implement GRC software to centralize data, processes, and reporting in one system. This enables real-time monitoring of compliance requirements, potential risks, control gaps, and performance metrics.
• Foster a culture of risk awareness among employees through training and communication of GRC objectives and responsibilities.
• Offer regular GRC methodology training and clearly define individual roles and responsibilities.
• Monitor KPIs, maturity metrics, and performance against defined GRC objectives to improve the program continuously.

With an integrated approach that leverages technology and instills a top-down risk-aware culture, organizations can execute a robust GRC strategy that provides enterprise-wide visibility and adds strategic value.

Common Challenges to GRC Implementation

Implementing an integrated GRC program presents some common obstacles that organizations should be prepared to address:

• Change management. GRC insights drive business decisions, so companies need change management strategies to adapt quickly.
• Data silos. Departmental data silos make it difficult to get a unified view of risks and compliance.
• Lack of unified framework. Fragmented GRC efforts need an overarching framework to meet evolving regulations.
• Developing risk culture. Getting employees across the organization to embrace risk-aware thinking requires executive commitment and communication.
• Communication gaps. Unclear communication among GRC teams, executives, and staff hinders effective policy-making and planning.

With adequate preparation and executive support, all of these challenges can be overcome. A well-designed GRC program integrates activities enterprise-wide through unified frameworks, centralized data, transparent communication, and an organizational culture focused on ethics and risk management.

GRC Tools and Software

GRC technologies such as RSA Archer, ServiceNow GRC, and ZenGRC provide crucial capabilities to automate and streamline GRC activities for stakeholders across the enterprise. Features include:

• A centralized risk register that tracks security risks and vulnerabilities, and mitigates them through remediation and risk management programs.
• Automated control testing, audits, and reporting to assist with compliance initiatives and support data privacy.
• Workflow automation to optimize business processes and the lifecycle of GRC activities.
• Real-time dashboards for visibility into KPIs and support data-driven decision-making.
• Role-based access controls to manage confidential data and support third-party risk management.
• Business continuity tools such as automated disaster recovery testing.

By centralizing data, processes, and workflows on a single integrated platform, GRC software solutions break down silos across business operations. This allows organizations to gain enterprise-wide visibility, improve agility in responding to disruptions, continuously monitor compliance, and make strategic decisions to optimize governance, risk management, and compliance.

ZenGRC is Your Solution for GRC Management

ZenGRC offers a comprehensive solution for managing your GRC program. With its intuitive dashboards, automated workflows, and extensive compliance frameworks, ZenGRC helps organizations optimize their GRC processes, mitigate risk, and achieve business goals. 

Schedule a demo today to see how ZenGRC clarifies roles, centralizes data, and helps manage governance, risk, and compliance.