NetworkTigers examines what it means to think like a network compliance officer, highlighting the skills, ethics, and leadership qualities that make this role critical to cybersecurity success.
When it comes to thinking like a network compliance officer, the name of the game is consistency. Network compliance is a boots-on-the-ground role that sets businesses apart from the crowd. Strong network compliance illustrates that a business is genuinely committed to cybersecurity protocols and is not just making empty promises or trying to stay ahead of trends.
Attention to detail
Are you the kind of person who arrives at the airport three hours early and checks on a friend’s location when they take a late-night rideshare? Do you know your city’s nearest emergency room or urgent care center? If so, you might have the right mindset for a network compliance officer. Network compliance officers are charged with accountability. They’re often tasked with ensuring that systems operate as they should, and may be the first to spot intrusions or weak spots for unauthorized access. While they can and should be part of incident response teams, compliance is at its best when it operates fully before a data breach occurs. This role is the canary in the coal mine, noticing what others will not and identifying threats early on.
Uncompromising ethics
Compliance officers are in charge of following all applicable laws and cybersecurity regulations. This means that the role of a network compliance officer can expand or contract as political will mandates specific steps are taken to complete certifications or receive government contract funds. This can also include following international data privacy practices for companies that operate in multiple countries.
For example, network compliance officers may be tasked with ensuring that a medical practice is HIPAA compliant, or that a company follows appropriate PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, or NIST protocols. For companies that receive government funding through loans, grants, or contracts, failure to follow appropriate cybersecurity protocols or miscertification of safety standards can result in hefty fines and up to triple liability per false claim, under the Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative. Network compliance officers should be the first to know about changing playbooks and new guidelines, and will advise and adapt compliance efforts to match. They need to know about legal requirements in cybersecurity and should have an uncompromising ethical compass about data privacy and protection. Good network compliance officers will not take shortcuts and may need to report to state agencies or outside auditors about why they have implemented certain protocols.
Leadership
Network compliance officers may be a by-the-book personality type, but they are often tasked with creating the playbook themselves. Because of this, network compliance officers are also in a leadership position. They may audit other departments, conduct cybersecurity training, and set company-wide standards.
To perform this role, network compliance officers should also be good communicators. It can fall to a network compliance officer not only to configure appropriate access protocols, but also to ensure that everyone on the staff and at remote job sites understands the importance of following them to the letter. Network compliance officers, at their most effective, can have a tangible impact on company culture. The best network compliance officers might help shift overall attention or long-term priorities towards data protection, ensuring they do not need to remind or reorient team members daily.
Building trust
A primary benefit of strong network compliance is that it builds trust among collaborators, partnerships, and clients. Any business can say that it protects users’ data, but network compliance is how a company puts its money where its mouth is. Network compliance officers are often trusted to safeguard sensitive client data, proprietary information, data analytics results, and more. As such, network compliance officers’ trustworthiness is a necessary hallmark of the job. Network compliance officers often have a history of working in the cybersecurity field or with the industry and are proven team players.
Future-proofing
A network compliance officer is concerned with a company’s everyday cybersecurity practices and well-being, but it is also a role with an eye to the future. Network compliance helps a company avoid legal fines, fees, and litigation and retain customer trust and goodwill. Good network compliance officers can help reduce insurance premiums for cyber risk coverage, minimize disruptions, and build business continuity plans. They can also help attract potential investors by creating a strong company culture and reducing risk.
Network compliance officers should be aware of cybersecurity trends in AI and how these developments can influence the field. AI has the potential to automate repetitive tasks, check and double-check areas of human error, detect emerging threats, and drastically improve overall monitoring. While monitoring is a critical part of a compliance officer’s role, this does not mean that AI has the potential to replace areas of communication, planning, and strategy that are also a large part of what the best network compliance officers take on. A Thomson Reuters survey shows that 78% of network compliance officers see AI as a force for good in their field. With appropriate supervision, AI can help network compliance officers respond more swiftly and accurately to threats.
Ultimately, thinking like a network compliance officer means having the follow-through to take a company to the next level. Good network compliance is a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded digital field.
About NetworkTigers
NetworkTigers is the leader in the secondary market for Grade A, seller-refurbished networking equipment. Founded in January 1996 as Andover Consulting Group, which built and re-architected data centers for Fortune 500 firms, NetworkTigers provides consulting and network equipment to global governmental agencies, Fortune 2000, and healthcare companies. www.networktigers.com.
