The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given new cybersecurity disclosure rules the green light. The SEC has recently approved new cybersecurity disclosure rules effective from July 26th, 2023, and your organization is required to report any material cybersecurity incidents within four business days of the occurrence. Furthermore, annual disclosures regarding your cybersecurity risk management and practices are now mandatory.

Significant cyberattacks, such as the SolarWinds Sunburst attack and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident, prompted this decision, raising concerns about corporate sector transparency. The lack of disclosure regarding such attacks left companies vulnerable to ongoing threats.

While these rules aim to improve transparency, there have been valid concerns about potential risks associated with divulging too much information. However, the SEC allows for certain disclosures to be delayed if they could jeopardize national security or public safety, as determined by the U.S. attorney general.

Proactive measures to ensure compliance

Your organization should consider implementing proactive measures to ensure compliance with the new cyber disclosure requirements. One such cutting-edge approach is policy-based access governance, which has the potential to transform your cybersecurity incident and data breach management practices.

To ensure compliance with these new cyber disclosure requirements, your organization should consider implementing proactive measures. One effective approach is policy-based access governance, which has the potential to change how organizations handle cybersecurity incidents and data breaches.

Policy-based access governance can be a valuable solution to address the challenges of meeting new cybersecurity incident disclosure requirements. Here's how policy-based access governance can help:

Improved cybersecurity measures: Policy-based access governance allows your organization to define and enforce access policies based on roles, responsibilities, and other criteria. By implementing well-defined access policies, you can ensure that ONLY authorized users and accounts can access sensitive systems and data, reducing your risk of unauthorized access and potential cyberattacks.

Faster incident disclosure: With policy-based access governance, your organization can monitor and track access to critical systems and data in real time. This visibility enables you to detect and respond to cybersecurity incidents more quickly. Faster incident detection means you can disclose material cybersecurity incidents within four business days, as the SEC mandates.

Consistent policy enforcement: Policy-based access governance ensures access control policies are applied consistently across the organization. This leads to more consistent cybersecurity disclosures because you can demonstrate adherence to the access governance standards.

Enhanced compliance: Policy-based access governance helps your organization meet regulatory requirements by demonstrating robust access control mechanisms and incident reporting protocols. This reduces your risk of penalties due to non-compliance with cybersecurity disclosure obligations.

Smoother Audits: Policy-based access governance provides a clear audit trail of access permissions and actions during regulatory audits or investigations. This helps you efficiently respond to inquiries and demonstrate you're maintaining a secure and transparent cybersecurity environment.

In the face of regulatory audits, your organization can benefit from streamlined processes because clear access permissions facilitate efficient responses to security incidents. Policy-based access governance addresses compliance concerns and boosts cyber defense practices, promoting best practices and accountability. 

As cyber threats evolve, staying informed and prioritizing security is critical for every organization's resilience and success.