Blog
March 25, 2025

How to Achieve Data Security Compliance Without Slowing Down Your Business

Protect your business from escalating cybercrimes and legal penalties. Data breaches and privacy laws demand robust security. This guide provides five simple steps to achieve data compliance efficiently, without hindering your business growth.

Download
Download

Key Points 

  • Data security compliance is no longer an option; it applies to all websites because cybercrimes are rapidly increasing, and privacy laws exist on every continent.  
  • Determining which laws apply to your business and achieving compliance can take up a lot of precious time, energy, and money, especially if businesses go at it alone. 
  • Solutions exist to help simplify and speed up privacy compliance, like legal policy generators, templates, and consent solutions.  

The Internet presents endless business opportunities, but without the right tools, it can also lead to significant privacy and security risks.  

Cybercrimes targeting websites and apps are increasing at an alarming rate, like data breaches and leaks. Privacy and data breach laws also impact businesses, making specific data security best practices a legal requirement. This guide will help you efficiently achieve data compliance without slowing down your business in five simple steps.  

What is data security compliance? 

Data security compliance refers to websites and apps that prioritize data privacy and security in all facets of their business and ensure they’re adequately meeting the requirements of applicable data privacy laws. 

This is necessary because 137 out of 194 countries have privacy legislation in place. These laws typically have very broad thresholds, and one or more may apply to your business, regardless of its physical location.  

They outline various data processing and security requirements businesses must follow, which include being honest and transparent with consumers about what information you’re collecting, legally managing consumer consent, and keeping data safe from breaches, destruction, and unauthorized access.  

What security risks are a threat to your businesses’ data? 

According to Statista, cyber-attacks are increasing, and by 2028, the cost of these crimes is projected to reach $1.82 trillion in the U.S.  

Even small businesses and individuals risk having their data stolen, their accounts frozen, or worse, at the hands of a hacker. Businesses that collect data are at risk of:  

  • Data breaches 
  • Data leaks 
  • Malware 
  • Ransomware 
  • Phishing scams 
  • Spoofing 

In addition, data breach and privacy laws typically hold businesses financially liable if data in their care is stolen, breached, or hacked. For example, under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), consumers can pursue civil action against a company if their credentials are stolen or accessed without proper authorization.  

Achieving data security compliance is, therefore, essential to help prevent cyberattacks, mitigate security risks, and avoid legal penalties.  

How do these security risks and compliance efforts slow down businesses? 

Businesses often feel underprepared to achieve data security compliance and may find the process too confusing, time-consuming, and costly. 

Determining which laws apply to your business requires extensive knowledge of existing privacy laws. But because this legal landscape is still evolving, you also need to keep up with new or adapted privacy laws. 

Several technical skills are required to meet some of the obligations these laws outline for businesses.  

For example, the CCPA requires businesses to allow users to opt out of targeted advertising and the selling or sharing of their data with third parties. Most business owners might not have the capacity to independently make a tool for obtaining and storing website user consent preferences for these purposes.  

Fortunately, several resources exist to help streamline this and other necessary compliance processes.  

5 Steps to Seamlessly Achieve Data Security and Privacy Compliance 

While achieving legal compliance can take up a lot of time, there are ways to remove the burdens it adds to your plate.  

According to a 2024 Business Survey, 78.1% of businesses did not feel a negative impact from privacy requirements. Here’s what they did to achieve compliance without slowing down their business.  

Step One: Be transparent with consumers 

An important aspect of achieving data security compliance is ensuring your business meets all notification guidelines outlined by applicable privacy laws. Being honest about what data your website or app collects and how it’s used also helps you build better customer relationships.   

To meet these requirements, businesses should have an accurate, easy-to-read privacy policy available to users. It should include details about what personal information your website collects and how it’s used, if you share or sell that data, and explain what controls users have regarding their information.  

The easiest way to meet these legal guidelines is to use solutions like a privacy policy generator or a free template. Generators typically do more work for you, so you’re not required to write long clauses independently like you might need to do with a template, speeding up the process.  

Step Two: Give consumers a choice 

When a user visits your website, you should give them a choice regarding whether and when you collect their personal information. Privacy laws require this for certain data processing activities, but it also shows users that you respect their privacy.  

When asked what impact cookie consent banners had on their business, that same business survey found that 89.2% said it had a positive or no noticeable impact. 

To help meet this legal requirement, consider using a Consent Management Platform (CMP) to simplify managing user cookie consent, which typically features:  

  • Customisable consent banner 
  • Cookie policy 
  • Website scanner 
  • Consent preference centre
  • Web form to manage user requests to follow through on privacy rights 

Using a managed CMP solution, like Termly, helps take care of the technical and coding aspects, leaving you more time to focus on your business. 

Step Three: Encrypt data 

If your business is storing data, ensure you’re encrypting it to protect its integrity.  

Data encryption is the process of transforming information using a unique code so it cannot be read or understood without the key. If the data is breached, cybercriminals cannot identify who it belongs to unless they also have the encryption key, which adds an additional layer of protection.  

In addition, in the case of a privacy audit, encrypting the data helps your business prove that you implemented effective security measures to protect the integrity of the data as required by privacy laws.  

Step Four: Limit who can access the data 

A necessary way to keep the data your business collects secure is to limit who can access the information. A good rule of thumb is to only allow members of your team to access the data if it’s necessary for them to perform their job, a function, or other duties.  

Establish a formal process your business can refer so everyone knows who is approved to access data and who needs to request to receive formal permission. 

Step Five: Use multi-factor authentication and strong passwords 

If your business doesn’t mandate multi-factor authentication or have a strong password policy, implement both immediately. Otherwise, any data stored behind a login or portal is at risk.  

It’s very easy for cybercriminals to code password hacks, allowing them to rapidly guess commonly used simple passwords and gain access to personal and professional accounts that aren’t properly protected.  

A strong password should be longer than eight characters (some professionals suggest 16 or more), include a mix of lowercase and capital letters and special characters, and avoid common phrases, birth dates, and other personal details.  

🔒Metomic in Action: Clean Up and Secure Your Google Drive in 15 Minutes

You already have sensitive data in Google Drive, but do you know who has access to it? Security tools often focus on preventing future risks, but what about the data that is already exposed?

In our webinar, we will walk through how you can:

  • Identify and classify sensitive data across your entire Google Drive
  • Fix access risks and remove unnecessary exposure in a few clicks
  • Apply retention policies to keep data under control without disrupting workflows

Instead of hoping for the best, take practical steps to reduce the risk of data breaches and keep your SaaS environment secure from day one.

Table of content
Table of contents
Table of contents
Table of contents
Table of contents
Table of contents

Key Points 

  • Data security compliance is no longer an option; it applies to all websites because cybercrimes are rapidly increasing, and privacy laws exist on every continent.  
  • Determining which laws apply to your business and achieving compliance can take up a lot of precious time, energy, and money, especially if businesses go at it alone. 
  • Solutions exist to help simplify and speed up privacy compliance, like legal policy generators, templates, and consent solutions.  

The Internet presents endless business opportunities, but without the right tools, it can also lead to significant privacy and security risks.  

Cybercrimes targeting websites and apps are increasing at an alarming rate, like data breaches and leaks. Privacy and data breach laws also impact businesses, making specific data security best practices a legal requirement. This guide will help you efficiently achieve data compliance without slowing down your business in five simple steps.  

What is data security compliance? 

Data security compliance refers to websites and apps that prioritize data privacy and security in all facets of their business and ensure they’re adequately meeting the requirements of applicable data privacy laws. 

This is necessary because 137 out of 194 countries have privacy legislation in place. These laws typically have very broad thresholds, and one or more may apply to your business, regardless of its physical location.  

They outline various data processing and security requirements businesses must follow, which include being honest and transparent with consumers about what information you’re collecting, legally managing consumer consent, and keeping data safe from breaches, destruction, and unauthorized access.  

What security risks are a threat to your businesses’ data? 

According to Statista, cyber-attacks are increasing, and by 2028, the cost of these crimes is projected to reach $1.82 trillion in the U.S.  

Even small businesses and individuals risk having their data stolen, their accounts frozen, or worse, at the hands of a hacker. Businesses that collect data are at risk of:  

  • Data breaches 
  • Data leaks 
  • Malware 
  • Ransomware 
  • Phishing scams 
  • Spoofing 

In addition, data breach and privacy laws typically hold businesses financially liable if data in their care is stolen, breached, or hacked. For example, under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), consumers can pursue civil action against a company if their credentials are stolen or accessed without proper authorization.  

Achieving data security compliance is, therefore, essential to help prevent cyberattacks, mitigate security risks, and avoid legal penalties.  

How do these security risks and compliance efforts slow down businesses? 

Businesses often feel underprepared to achieve data security compliance and may find the process too confusing, time-consuming, and costly. 

Determining which laws apply to your business requires extensive knowledge of existing privacy laws. But because this legal landscape is still evolving, you also need to keep up with new or adapted privacy laws. 

Several technical skills are required to meet some of the obligations these laws outline for businesses.  

For example, the CCPA requires businesses to allow users to opt out of targeted advertising and the selling or sharing of their data with third parties. Most business owners might not have the capacity to independently make a tool for obtaining and storing website user consent preferences for these purposes.  

Fortunately, several resources exist to help streamline this and other necessary compliance processes.  

5 Steps to Seamlessly Achieve Data Security and Privacy Compliance 

While achieving legal compliance can take up a lot of time, there are ways to remove the burdens it adds to your plate.  

According to a 2024 Business Survey, 78.1% of businesses did not feel a negative impact from privacy requirements. Here’s what they did to achieve compliance without slowing down their business.  

Step One: Be transparent with consumers 

An important aspect of achieving data security compliance is ensuring your business meets all notification guidelines outlined by applicable privacy laws. Being honest about what data your website or app collects and how it’s used also helps you build better customer relationships.   

To meet these requirements, businesses should have an accurate, easy-to-read privacy policy available to users. It should include details about what personal information your website collects and how it’s used, if you share or sell that data, and explain what controls users have regarding their information.  

The easiest way to meet these legal guidelines is to use solutions like a privacy policy generator or a free template. Generators typically do more work for you, so you’re not required to write long clauses independently like you might need to do with a template, speeding up the process.  

Step Two: Give consumers a choice 

When a user visits your website, you should give them a choice regarding whether and when you collect their personal information. Privacy laws require this for certain data processing activities, but it also shows users that you respect their privacy.  

When asked what impact cookie consent banners had on their business, that same business survey found that 89.2% said it had a positive or no noticeable impact. 

To help meet this legal requirement, consider using a Consent Management Platform (CMP) to simplify managing user cookie consent, which typically features:  

  • Customisable consent banner 
  • Cookie policy 
  • Website scanner 
  • Consent preference centre
  • Web form to manage user requests to follow through on privacy rights 

Using a managed CMP solution, like Termly, helps take care of the technical and coding aspects, leaving you more time to focus on your business. 

Step Three: Encrypt data 

If your business is storing data, ensure you’re encrypting it to protect its integrity.  

Data encryption is the process of transforming information using a unique code so it cannot be read or understood without the key. If the data is breached, cybercriminals cannot identify who it belongs to unless they also have the encryption key, which adds an additional layer of protection.  

In addition, in the case of a privacy audit, encrypting the data helps your business prove that you implemented effective security measures to protect the integrity of the data as required by privacy laws.  

Step Four: Limit who can access the data 

A necessary way to keep the data your business collects secure is to limit who can access the information. A good rule of thumb is to only allow members of your team to access the data if it’s necessary for them to perform their job, a function, or other duties.  

Establish a formal process your business can refer so everyone knows who is approved to access data and who needs to request to receive formal permission. 

Step Five: Use multi-factor authentication and strong passwords 

If your business doesn’t mandate multi-factor authentication or have a strong password policy, implement both immediately. Otherwise, any data stored behind a login or portal is at risk.  

It’s very easy for cybercriminals to code password hacks, allowing them to rapidly guess commonly used simple passwords and gain access to personal and professional accounts that aren’t properly protected.  

A strong password should be longer than eight characters (some professionals suggest 16 or more), include a mix of lowercase and capital letters and special characters, and avoid common phrases, birth dates, and other personal details.  

🔒Metomic in Action: Clean Up and Secure Your Google Drive in 15 Minutes

You already have sensitive data in Google Drive, but do you know who has access to it? Security tools often focus on preventing future risks, but what about the data that is already exposed?

In our webinar, we will walk through how you can:

  • Identify and classify sensitive data across your entire Google Drive
  • Fix access risks and remove unnecessary exposure in a few clicks
  • Apply retention policies to keep data under control without disrupting workflows

Instead of hoping for the best, take practical steps to reduce the risk of data breaches and keep your SaaS environment secure from day one.

Key Points 

  • Data security compliance is no longer an option; it applies to all websites because cybercrimes are rapidly increasing, and privacy laws exist on every continent.  
  • Determining which laws apply to your business and achieving compliance can take up a lot of precious time, energy, and money, especially if businesses go at it alone. 
  • Solutions exist to help simplify and speed up privacy compliance, like legal policy generators, templates, and consent solutions.  

The Internet presents endless business opportunities, but without the right tools, it can also lead to significant privacy and security risks.  

Cybercrimes targeting websites and apps are increasing at an alarming rate, like data breaches and leaks. Privacy and data breach laws also impact businesses, making specific data security best practices a legal requirement. This guide will help you efficiently achieve data compliance without slowing down your business in five simple steps.  

What is data security compliance? 

Data security compliance refers to websites and apps that prioritize data privacy and security in all facets of their business and ensure they’re adequately meeting the requirements of applicable data privacy laws. 

This is necessary because 137 out of 194 countries have privacy legislation in place. These laws typically have very broad thresholds, and one or more may apply to your business, regardless of its physical location.  

They outline various data processing and security requirements businesses must follow, which include being honest and transparent with consumers about what information you’re collecting, legally managing consumer consent, and keeping data safe from breaches, destruction, and unauthorized access.  

What security risks are a threat to your businesses’ data? 

According to Statista, cyber-attacks are increasing, and by 2028, the cost of these crimes is projected to reach $1.82 trillion in the U.S.  

Even small businesses and individuals risk having their data stolen, their accounts frozen, or worse, at the hands of a hacker. Businesses that collect data are at risk of:  

  • Data breaches 
  • Data leaks 
  • Malware 
  • Ransomware 
  • Phishing scams 
  • Spoofing 

In addition, data breach and privacy laws typically hold businesses financially liable if data in their care is stolen, breached, or hacked. For example, under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), consumers can pursue civil action against a company if their credentials are stolen or accessed without proper authorization.  

Achieving data security compliance is, therefore, essential to help prevent cyberattacks, mitigate security risks, and avoid legal penalties.  

How do these security risks and compliance efforts slow down businesses? 

Businesses often feel underprepared to achieve data security compliance and may find the process too confusing, time-consuming, and costly. 

Determining which laws apply to your business requires extensive knowledge of existing privacy laws. But because this legal landscape is still evolving, you also need to keep up with new or adapted privacy laws. 

Several technical skills are required to meet some of the obligations these laws outline for businesses.  

For example, the CCPA requires businesses to allow users to opt out of targeted advertising and the selling or sharing of their data with third parties. Most business owners might not have the capacity to independently make a tool for obtaining and storing website user consent preferences for these purposes.  

Fortunately, several resources exist to help streamline this and other necessary compliance processes.  

5 Steps to Seamlessly Achieve Data Security and Privacy Compliance 

While achieving legal compliance can take up a lot of time, there are ways to remove the burdens it adds to your plate.  

According to a 2024 Business Survey, 78.1% of businesses did not feel a negative impact from privacy requirements. Here’s what they did to achieve compliance without slowing down their business.  

Step One: Be transparent with consumers 

An important aspect of achieving data security compliance is ensuring your business meets all notification guidelines outlined by applicable privacy laws. Being honest about what data your website or app collects and how it’s used also helps you build better customer relationships.   

To meet these requirements, businesses should have an accurate, easy-to-read privacy policy available to users. It should include details about what personal information your website collects and how it’s used, if you share or sell that data, and explain what controls users have regarding their information.  

The easiest way to meet these legal guidelines is to use solutions like a privacy policy generator or a free template. Generators typically do more work for you, so you’re not required to write long clauses independently like you might need to do with a template, speeding up the process.  

Step Two: Give consumers a choice 

When a user visits your website, you should give them a choice regarding whether and when you collect their personal information. Privacy laws require this for certain data processing activities, but it also shows users that you respect their privacy.  

When asked what impact cookie consent banners had on their business, that same business survey found that 89.2% said it had a positive or no noticeable impact. 

To help meet this legal requirement, consider using a Consent Management Platform (CMP) to simplify managing user cookie consent, which typically features:  

  • Customisable consent banner 
  • Cookie policy 
  • Website scanner 
  • Consent preference centre
  • Web form to manage user requests to follow through on privacy rights 

Using a managed CMP solution, like Termly, helps take care of the technical and coding aspects, leaving you more time to focus on your business. 

Step Three: Encrypt data 

If your business is storing data, ensure you’re encrypting it to protect its integrity.  

Data encryption is the process of transforming information using a unique code so it cannot be read or understood without the key. If the data is breached, cybercriminals cannot identify who it belongs to unless they also have the encryption key, which adds an additional layer of protection.  

In addition, in the case of a privacy audit, encrypting the data helps your business prove that you implemented effective security measures to protect the integrity of the data as required by privacy laws.  

Step Four: Limit who can access the data 

A necessary way to keep the data your business collects secure is to limit who can access the information. A good rule of thumb is to only allow members of your team to access the data if it’s necessary for them to perform their job, a function, or other duties.  

Establish a formal process your business can refer so everyone knows who is approved to access data and who needs to request to receive formal permission. 

Step Five: Use multi-factor authentication and strong passwords 

If your business doesn’t mandate multi-factor authentication or have a strong password policy, implement both immediately. Otherwise, any data stored behind a login or portal is at risk.  

It’s very easy for cybercriminals to code password hacks, allowing them to rapidly guess commonly used simple passwords and gain access to personal and professional accounts that aren’t properly protected.  

A strong password should be longer than eight characters (some professionals suggest 16 or more), include a mix of lowercase and capital letters and special characters, and avoid common phrases, birth dates, and other personal details.  

🔒Metomic in Action: Clean Up and Secure Your Google Drive in 15 Minutes

You already have sensitive data in Google Drive, but do you know who has access to it? Security tools often focus on preventing future risks, but what about the data that is already exposed?

In our webinar, we will walk through how you can:

  • Identify and classify sensitive data across your entire Google Drive
  • Fix access risks and remove unnecessary exposure in a few clicks
  • Apply retention policies to keep data under control without disrupting workflows

Instead of hoping for the best, take practical steps to reduce the risk of data breaches and keep your SaaS environment secure from day one.

Latest posts

Template: How to Create a RFP (Request for Proposal) Questionnaire for Modern DLP

Use an RFP to find the best cybersecurity vendor. This guide covers key RFP elements for Data Loss Prevention (DLP) providers, including criteria, evaluation, and a free template. Learn to mitigate risks, ensure compliance, and choose the right DLP solution.

Guides

3 Tips to Help Prevent Massive Data Breaches: A Lesson from Disney's Slack Channel Incident

Disney's recent Slack breach highlights the need for continuous monitoring, strict data retention policies, and effective DLP solutions. This incident, part of a broader trend, emphasises the importance of securing sensitive information in collaborative platforms.

Blog