Compliance with new security and privacy regulations falls squarely on IT departments

Network executives who want to keep up with the latest developments affecting their job had better start watching C-SPAN. That’s because state and federal governments, in response to concerns about security , privacy and corporate accountability, have gone on a regulatory spree that will cost U.S. companies billions of dollars in mandated IT upgrades. Cash-strapped IT departments are already feeling the financial and organizational sting of several pieces of legislation, and the worst is yet to come. The first regulation to come through the pipeline is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Designed to secure electronic patient information, HIPAA cost businesses an estimated $270 million in 2002, the year that most healthcare groups came into compliance, according to market researcher Frost & Sullivan. HIPAA pales in comparison to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which requires financial institutions to protect customer information. Even more sweeping is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which mandates all public companies back up financial statements with proof of procedures and controls. Full Story