GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, policies, evidence, audits and practical controls.
- Start here: Learn why rules exist, and how data privacy, trust, and business accountability connect to compliance.
- Core knowledge: Understand GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and the basic principles of information governance.
- Hands-on skill: Practice documenting policies, reviewing controls, identifying risk, and preparing evidence for audits.
- Applied understanding: Learn access control, asset classification, incident reporting, vendor risk, and ongoing monitoring.
- Advanced professional level: Explore internal audit, third-party assurance, governance programs, and enterprise compliance operations.
Compliance vs Security
Security is the protection work. Compliance is the evidence that required protection work is defined, followed and reviewed. A company can be secure but poorly documented, or compliant on paper but weak in practice. The goal is both.
Major Frameworks
- GDPR: privacy rules for personal data involving people in the EU.
- HIPAA: safeguards for protected health information in US healthcare contexts.
- SOC 2: trust services criteria often requested from SaaS vendors.
- PCI DSS: requirements for cardholder data environments.
- ISO 27001: an information security management system standard.
Real-World Example
A business customer wants proof that a SaaS vendor manages access, backups, monitoring and incident response. The vendor collects policies, logs, access reviews, change records and vendor risk documentation for an audit.
Evidence Matters
If it is not documented, it is hard to prove. Evidence can include screenshots, tickets, logs, policies, training records, access review exports and backup restore results.
Beginner Checklist
- Know what data you collect and where it goes.
- Limit access by role.
- Document security policies in plain language.
- Keep audit logs and review them.
- Run regular access reviews.
- Test incident response and backup recovery.
Compliance is disciplined proof that security, privacy and risk controls are working.
Explore ComplianceBrowse more articles and resources in this category