Differences Between IT Security and IT Compliance

As businesses rapidly transition to digital operations, advanced cybersecurity measures and compliance frameworks are now essential. Remote work has added new risks, with breach costs rising by $1.07 million when remote access is involved. Leaders recognize the importance of monitoring how data is shared, stored, and transferred; however, the challenge lies in understanding the requirements, identifying vulnerabilities, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

In essence, being secure and compliant means protecting assets, preventing harm, and detecting theft. Yet, confusion often remains between IT Security vs IT Compliance, two essential but distinct parts of risk management. That’s why Akitra created this blog for decision-makers and IT leaders, offering clear insights on IT Security vs IT Compliance to help you choose the right programs and frameworks for securing data and ensuring smooth, globally compliant IT operations.

Let’s begin!

What is IT Security?

IT security refers to the set of policies and procedures a company employs to protect its network, assets, and data from online threats. It defends against malware, operational disruptions, malicious actors, social engineering scams, and hackers seeking to steal sensitive information.

Because cyber risks are constantly evolving, IT security focuses on reducing both the likelihood of successful attacks and the damage they cause. This may involve using password managers, implementing two-factor authentication, utilizing biometric access, isolating systems, maintaining server redundancies, and developing disaster recovery plans.

Importantly, IT security is not just a technical matter—it requires a strong cybersecurity culture.

This includes training employees to recognize and mitigate risks while ensuring they adhere to strict security protocols and procedures.

What is IT Compliance?

IT compliance ensures that your IT policies and procedures meet the standards set by clients, governments, or accrediting bodies. It applies third-party requirements, such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001, to demonstrate a minimum level of IT security. Unlike IT security, which is developed internally to protect the business, compliance aligns operations with external rules.

Some standards, such as ISO 27001, are created by certifying bodies, while others, like the GDPR and HIPAA, are defined by law. Requirements vary by purpose—for example, GDPR emphasizes data protection, HIPAA focuses on patient privacy, and ISO 20000 addresses IT service quality. Ultimately, compliance reassures third parties that your organization meets a defined benchmark.

Process documentation is critical. Organizations must track data access and maintain accurate records, as regular external audits verify compliance and security measures.

Key Differences Between IT Security and IT Compliance

Your organization’s IT security and compliance procedures may share many similarities.

However, whereas IT security aims to safeguard the company’s customers and clients, IT compliance is more concerned with preserving the clients’ assets and data. Additionally, even within an industry, firms’ IT security strategies may differ, but an industry’s compliance standards generally remain the same.

At this point, understanding the difference between IT Security and IT Compliance becomes crucial, as the gap between the two can directly impact your organization’s risk posture.

Security is:

practiced for its purpose, not to appease the wants of others;
Driven by the requirement to safeguard the resources of an organization from ongoing threats, and,
maintained and enhanced regularly because nothing is ever finished.

Compliance is:

used to meet criteria from outside sources and streamline business processes;
driven by commercial needs (rarely technical needs); and,
implemented for the long run, with hardly any changes since regulatory bodies predetermine everything.

One should also remember that IT compliance errors could result in harsh fines from the relevant authorities. At best, the business may lose certifications; at worst, you could lose revenue and be subject to severe penalties and other regulatory action. But IT security flaws can potentially disrupt a company’s business operations, harm the firm and its clients’ assets, cause the loss of customer and company data, and even result in fines or other sanctions from the government.

How can IT Security and IT Compliance Work Together?

A robust IT security program is essential for safeguarding critical assets—not just ticking compliance boxes. Defense-in-depth, layered security, user training, and regular third-party testing help ensure that protections are effective and robust. Companies that focus solely on meeting regulations, without implementing these measures, risk becoming easy targets for cybercriminals.

Although Compliance is frequently thought of as simply accomplishing the bare minimum, it has value in its own right. Compliance is more than just a set of hurdles to clear for the company’s benefit.

Adapting to a well-known industrial compliance standard (like the ISO 27001 or SOC 2) can:

Boost the standing of your business.
Bring you new clients who are security-conscious;
Help you discover any weaknesses in your current IT security program that might not have been found without the use of a compliance audit.

By integrating IT Security vs IT Compliance strategies, businesses can ensure they meet regulatory expectations while also staying ahead of evolving cyber threats. Additionally, Compliance promotes a consistent security scheme for firms, rather than one where controls are selected at the administrator’s discretion.

In the long run, treating IT Security vs IT Compliance as complementary rather than competing priorities will strengthen both your operational resilience and market credibility.

Security, AI Risk Management, and Compliance with Akitra!

In the competitive landscape of SaaS businesses, trust is paramount amidst data breaches and privacy concerns. Akitra addresses this need with its leading AI-powered Compliance Automation platform. Our platform empowers customers to prevent sensitive data disclosure and mitigate risks, meeting the expectations of customers and partners in the rapidly evolving landscape of data security and compliance. Through automated evidence collection and continuous monitoring, paired with customizable policies, Akitra ensures organizations are compliance-ready for various frameworks such as SOC 1, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 42001, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, NIST AI RMF, FedRAMP, CCPA, CMMC, SOX ITGC, and more such as CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, Australian ISM and Essential Eight etc. In addition, companies can use Akitra’s Risk Management product for overall risk management using quantitative methodologies such as Factorial Analysis of Information Risks (FAIR) and qualitative methods, including NIST-based for your company, Vulnerability Assessment and Pen Testing services, Third Party Vendor Risk Management, Trust Center, and AI-based Automated Questionnaire Response product to streamline and expedite security questionnaire response processes, delivering huge cost savings. Our compliance and security experts provide customized guidance to navigate the end-to-end compliance process confidently. Last but not least, we have also developed a resource hub called Akitra Academy, which offers easy-to-learn short video courses on security, compliance, and related topics of immense significance for today’s fast-growing companies.

Our solution offers substantial time and cost savings, including discounted audit fees, enabling fast and cost-effective compliance certification. Customers achieve continuous compliance as they grow, becoming certified under multiple frameworks through a single automation platform.

Build customer trust. Choose Akitra TODAY!‍ To book your FREE DEMO, contact us right here.