For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), regulatory and industry compliance can feel like more of a burden than necessary. Many of the most critical compliance measures are also the most straightforward to implement. Below are five practical steps any SMB can take to meet regulatory demands without breaking the bank.
1. Start with Documentation
In the context of compliance, documentation refers to policies, procedures, and standards.
- Policies: Company intentions pertaining to data protection.
- Procedures: Step-by-step instructions guiding how tasks are to be performed.
- Standards: Benchmarks or service requirements, usually based on recognized frameworks such as NIST or ISO.
Together, the documentation establishes your company’s method of operating securely.
- Draft or update your organizational policies, making sure to communicate them clearly to all employees.
- Translate high-level policies into tangible standards that match your business’s size and industry requirements.
- Document operational procedures, from how to onboard new employees securely to how to handle customer data.
2. Know Your Critical Assets
Identifying all company hardware, software, and even human resources enables you to identify where potential vulnerabilities might lie. After all, you can only protect the assets you know about. This entails keeping a running list of all computers, servers, mobile devices, cloud services, and relevant personnel roles. Be sure to revisit and reconcile asset inventories periodically to ensure that newly added or retired assets are accounted for.
- Create a spreadsheet or use an asset management tool to list every critical asset.
- Assign owners for each asset to ensure accountability.
- Schedule periodic reviews to keep your inventory accurate.
3. Classify and Protect Your Data
Not all data is equally sensitive. Understanding the types of data you hold—and how it’s stored and transmitted—helps you apply the right level of protection to it.
- Determine a data classification system that fits your business model (e.g., “Public,” “Internal Only,” “Confidential,” “Restricted”).
- Enforce encryption standards and restrict sensitive data from being stored on personal devices.
- Keep a record of whether data resides locally, in the cloud, or in long-term archives.
- Incorporate these policies into your documentation.
4. Identify Gaps and Standardize Processes
Even with documented policies and asset inventories, unrecognized weaknesses can leave you exposed. Conducting regular risk or security assessments shines a light on any blind spots. The assessments can be simple checklists or more formal risk assessments that review technology, processes, and employee practices. Once gaps are identified (e.g., out-of-date software or missing procedures), take action to remediate them.
- Schedule basic self-assessments or hire an external consultant for a more formal review.
- Prioritize fixes based on impact, starting with those that pose the greatest risk (like unpatched systems).
- Clearly communicate any new processes or policy changes to the entire organization.
5. Establish Controls Following a Security Framework
Adopting an industry-recognized security framework (such as NIST CSF) helps you maintain consistent, standardized controls across your business, making compliance easier to manage. Choose a framework suited to your industry or legal requirements such as HIPAA for healthcare. Start with the most critical controls and build out from there––adding more as your business grows and as the cyber threat environment evolves.
- Select the framework that aligns with your industry and compliance needs.
- Implement core controls systematically—this may include user access management, data encryption, and incident response procedures.
- Regularly review and update controls as technology and threats evolve.
Final Thoughts
For SMBs, compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming or prohibitively expensive. By focusing on foundational elements, you can build a robust compliance posture. Remember: Start small, stay consistent, and build incrementally. Over time, these simple yet powerful steps can dramatically improve your compliance efforts and overall security readiness.
