Understanding IT Security Acronyms

Feeling overwhelmed by IT security acronyms like PCI-DSS, ISO, and HIPAA?

You’re not alone.

With so many regulations and standards to keep up with, it’s hard to know where to start. Understanding what applies to your business can be a daunting task, but it’s essential for safeguarding your data.

In this blog post, we’ll break down the basics and guide you through key security frameworks so you can take the first steps toward compliance and protection.

3 Categories of IT Security Acronyms You’ll See

When navigating the world of IT security, you’ll encounter acronyms across three main categories:

1. Legal Requirements

These include regulations and laws that businesses must comply with to protect data and avoid penalties:

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) for protecting sensitive healthcare information and ensuring the privacy and security of patient data.
CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) for ensuring that organizations handling U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) data meet specific cybersecurity standards to protect controlled unclassified information (CUI).

These legal frameworks are essential for businesses to meet regulatory obligations and safeguard sensitive information.

2. Governing Organizations

These acronyms represent the bodies that establish and enforce standards, such as:

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) for developing international standards to ensure quality and consistency across industries.
NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) for providing cybersecurity frameworks and guidelines to manage and reduce security risks.

These bodies play a crucial role in shaping security standards and ensuring businesses follow best practices for protection and compliance.

3. Specific Standards

These acronyms refer to the technical frameworks and procedures your business might implement, such as:

TLS (Transport Layer Security) for secure data transmission.
SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2) for ensuring security and privacy of data.
PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) for protecting payment card information.

These standards focus on data protection and, in some cases, privacy.

Real-World Examples of IT Security Acronyms in Action

This section delves deeper into how various IT security acronyms play out in real-world scenarios:

HIPAA

HIPAA is an example of a legal requirement. HIPAA is short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. HIPAA is a law applying to certain kinds of healthcare companies.

Rather than detailing specific requirements, HIPAA lists broad security objectives and leaves companies to decide how to implement them. This allows the law to scale for company size and with changing technology.

Some other examples of legal requirements are:

HITECH (Short for “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health,” an amendment to HIPAA).
GLBA (Short for “Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act” which governs financial companies).
FISMA (Short for “Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002” which regulates federal agencies and their contractors).

Safeguard patient information and foster a strong reputation as a trusted healthcare provider with this self-assessment.

ISO

ISO is an example of an organization. It’s an abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO is an international effort to come up with standardized terms and measurements for everything from timber sizes to laboratory glassware to fingerprint image data.

One set of standards is ISO 27001, which details specific IT security requirements. Teal is ISO 27001 certified, which means we have demonstrated that we meet those security standards.

Other examples of organizations that publish their own standards are:

The SANS Institute: SysAdmin, Audit, Network and Security Institute is a private company that offers security training.
ISACA: Formally, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association is a professional association.
HITRUST: The Health Information Trust Alliance a joint creation of several healthcare companies.

PCI-DSS

PCI-DSS is a specific list of standards. It was created by and utilized in the Payment Card Industry to offer a Data Security Standard across businesses that accept credit cards to keep consumers safe and meet government regulations.

Lots of organizations have their own list of security standards or certifications, which adds more acronyms to the mix:

The SANS Institute offers GIAC or the “Global Information Assurance Certification.” ISACA publishes COBIT, which stands for “Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies.”
HITRUST regularly updates what they call the CSF or “Common Security Framework.”
Some organizations use their name in their list of controls, such as CIS (the “Center for Internet Security”) which writes “CIS Controls” and “CIS Benchmarks.”

When it Comes to IT Security Acronyms, Do Your Research

When looking at IT certifications, it is important to look up what a company claims to have. A company that says they are “HITRUST Certified” is saying that an auditor has evaluated them and found they meet the CSF standards published by the HITRUST organization.

That also means there is no such thing as “HIPAA Certified” because HIPAA is a law, not a list of standards or certifications. A more accurate designation would be “HIPAA Compliant.”

If you are interested in increasing your level of IT security, you should research what organizations specialize in creating standards for your industry. Unlike some kinds of certifications, there is no “one size fits all” standard for technology. There are multiple different ways to address a security problem.

Improve Your Security with Teal

One surefire way to increase security is to utilize vendors that have their own IT certifications, that way you can trust a third party has evaluated their security.

At Teal, we provide comprehensive services and solutions that minimize cyber risk and maximize your growth. By helping you take control of your environment, you can rest assured that your IT environment is secure and compliant.

We specialize in a wide range of IT security frameworks and provide responsive, tailored managed IT services to small and mid-sized businesses nationwide.

Our teams provide expert, hands-on support in key cities, ensuring your business receives the assistance you need, when you need it, including:

If you’re interested in learning more about our managed IT services, contact us today.