Achieving Regulatory Compliance in the Public Sector

Several key regulations form the foundation of public sector compliance requirements. This table provides a quick reference guide to key public sector compliance standards:

Government agencies encounter numerous challenges in meeting regulatory demands. Here are common obstacles they face:

• Data sprawl: Information distributed across multiple systems, departments, and platforms.
• Legacy systems: Outdated technology that lacks modern security capabilities.
• Limited resources: Insufficient budget and qualified personnel for compliance initiatives.
• Siloed operations: Departments working independently without coordinated compliance approaches.
• Complex vendor ecosystems: Multiple third-party relationships requiring oversight.
• Evolving regulations: Continuously changing requirements demanding constant adaptation.

The risks of non-compliance are substantial. Agencies face potential fines and penalties that impact already constrained budgets. Security breaches can expose sensitive citizen data and disrupt critical services. Perhaps most damaging is the loss of public trust, which undermines an agency’s fundamental mission to serve citizens effectively.

Developing an effective compliance strategy begins with mapping the specific regulatory landscape applicable to your agency or department. This process involves identifying all relevant laws, regulations, and standards based on your jurisdiction, the type of data you handle, and the services you provide. You should create a comprehensive inventory of requirements, noting deadlines, reporting obligations, and specific controls needed for each regulation.

Cross-functional teams prove essential for successful compliance initiatives.

• Form a compliance committee with representatives from IT, legal, operations, finance, and leadership to provide diverse perspectives.
• Establish clear objectives with measurable outcomes, specific timelines, and defined responsibilities.
• Develop a detailed compliance checklist that tracks progress toward meeting each regulatory requirement and identifies gaps requiring remediation.

Regular audits and thorough documentation serve as the backbone of regulatory accountability.

• Implement a schedule of internal audits to verify compliance before external reviews.
• Maintain detailed records of all compliance activities, including risk assessments, control implementations, policy updates, and staff training.

This documentation provides evidence of compliance efforts during audits and helps demonstrate due diligence in case of incidents.

A practical roadmap for achieving and maintaining public sector compliance should include four key phases:

1. Assessment: Evaluate current compliance status, identify gaps, and prioritize remediation efforts.
2. Implementation: Deploy necessary controls, update policies, and train staff on requirements.
3. Monitoring: Track compliance status through regular audits and automated tools.
4. Continuous improvement: Refine processes based on audit findings, regulatory changes, and emerging threats.

Organizations often encounter strategy-specific obstacles such as competing priorities, resource constraints, and resistance to change. These challenges compound the fundamental issues already outlined, requiring persistent leadership support and clear communication about compliance benefits.

Continuous monitoring of compliance risks can provide early detection of potential issues before they escalate into serious violations. This practice becomes particularly critical in hybrid and multi-cloud environments where data flows across multiple platforms with varying security controls. Implement automated monitoring tools that can track compliance status in real time and alert teams to potential violations or security gaps.

Formal compliance training programs help create a culture of compliance throughout the organization. Develop role-specific training that addresses the compliance requirements relevant to each employee’s responsibilities. Regular refresher courses keep staff updated on evolving regulations and reinforce the importance of following established procedures when handling sensitive data.

Public sector organizations benefit significantly from leveraging specialized threat intelligence and cybersecurity frameworks. Adopt frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework or CIS Controls that provide structured approaches to security aligned with public sector needs. Participate in information-sharing communities specific to government entities to gain insights into emerging threats targeting public institutions.

The following practices form the foundation of a robust compliance posture:

• Comprehensive risk assessment: Regularly evaluate compliance risks across all systems and processes.
• Policy documentation: Maintain clear, updated policies aligned with current regulatory requirements.
• Access control management: Implement least-privilege principles for all systems and data.
• Change management processes: Evaluate compliance impact before implementing system changes.
• Incident response planning: Develop specific procedures for compliance-related incidents.
• Vendor management program: Assess third-party compliance with relevant regulations.
• Executive oversight: Establish leadership accountability for compliance outcomes.

Proactive measures significantly reduce compliance risks before they materialize into violations or breaches.

• Implement frequent patch management to address security vulnerabilities in all systems handling regulated data.
• Conduct regular access control reviews to verify that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information.
• Schedule incident response drills that specifically address compliance-related scenarios such as data breaches or unauthorized disclosures.

Additional security approaches strengthen your compliance posture through technical safeguards.

• Deploy encryption for data at rest and in transit to protect sensitive information even if systems are compromised.
• Implement data segmentation to isolate regulated information and apply appropriate controls based on sensitivity levels.
• Conduct regular disaster recovery testing to verify that data can be restored in compliance with regulatory requirements for business continuity.

Third-party risk management deserves special attention in compliance programs.

• Develop a formal vendor assessment process that evaluates compliance capabilities before engagement.
• Include regulatory requirements in contract language with specific performance metrics.
• Conduct periodic reviews of vendor compliance through questionnaires, documentation reviews, and when appropriate, on-site assessments.

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) in Western Australia faced a significant compliance challenge during its transition to a hybrid cloud environment. Supporting over 1,100 users with diverse business needs, the department needed to maintain regulatory compliance while moving from on-premises services to a combination of private government cloud and public cloud infrastructure.

“Risk management played a vital part in the next step we took to guarantee our information remained highly secured in the event of a ransomware attack or catastrophic failure,” said Angelo Giaros, CIO of the DPC. The department’s primary objective focused on preserving the integrity of archived mailbox data during cloud migration while maintaining operational continuity and compliance with information retention requirements.

The DPC identified several critical compliance challenges:

• Need for a data management-as-a-service solution to protect critical information in Microsoft Office 365.
• Requirements to maintain the same indexing and search capabilities for archived email journals in the cloud.
• Necessity to respond quickly to information requests for compliance purposes.
• Desire to simplify management of backups and recovery in a hybrid environment.

After evaluating available options, the department implemented a comprehensive solution that addressed these compliance requirements. It transitioned 1,500 mailboxes to cloud backup and recovery for Microsoft 365 with eDiscovery capabilities for archive compliance. The solution expanded to include protection for databases, file stores, and record management services, providing a unified management interface across all workloads.

The results delivered significant compliance benefits:

• Critical information received protection from application failures and cyber threats.
• IT staff workloads decreased through simplified hybrid cloud management.
• Management overhead reduced with unlimited cloud storage and retention capabilities.
• Compliance requests received quick responses through advanced indexing capabilities.
• Transition required minimal resources due to ease of configuration and management.

“Whilst there are many cloud backup services available, our requirements needed a solution that would encapsulate backup, recovery and email,” Giaros said. “Finding a single product rather than resorting to a combination of cloud services would reduce contract management and potentially provide operational overhead savings.”

This case study demonstrates how public sector organizations can successfully navigate complex compliance requirements during digital transformation initiatives. By implementing a unified approach to data protection and compliance, government agencies can streamline operations while maintaining the highest standards of data governance and regulatory adherence.

Commvault’s data protection platform provides comprehensive capabilities that help public sector organizations meet their regulatory obligations. The platform is designed to help secure, manage, and enable recovery of data according to compliance standards through unified data management. This approach simplifies the complex task of achieving compliance across diverse environments and data types common in government settings.

Commvault’s platform can deliver significant benefits for public sector compliance programs. The extensive data visibility helps identify and protect regulated information wherever it resides. Automated compliance workflows help reduce the administrative burden on limited staff resources. Detailed reporting capabilities help streamline audit processes and demonstrate due diligence to regulators.

Commvault maintains critical certifications specifically relevant to public sector requirements.

• FedRAMP High authorization demonstrates compliance with the most stringent federal cloud security requirements.
• GovRAMP certification addresses state-level cloud security standards.
• FIPS 140-3 validation confirms that cryptographic modules meet federal standards for securing sensitive but unclassified information.

Public sector organizations must balance regulatory compliance with operational efficiency while protecting sensitive data across diverse environments. The right data protection strategy combines comprehensive security controls, automated workflows, and robust recovery capabilities to address compliance requirements at every level.

By implementing these practices alongside proven technology solutions, agencies can build resilient compliance programs that protect citizen data and maintain public trust.

Request a demo to see how we can help you strengthen your compliance posture.