Compliance
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Compliance means following the rules — legal, industry, or governmental standards that say how you must handle data and security. If you store credit cards, you follow PCI DSS. If you handle health data, you follow HIPAA. If you have EU customers, you follow GDPR. Breaking compliance rules means fines, lawsuits, and serious reputation damage.
Real Talk
Security compliance involves adhering to regulatory frameworks and standards that mandate specific security controls. Common frameworks: GDPR (EU data privacy), PCI DSS (payment card data), SOC 2 (service organization controls), HIPAA (health data), and ISO 27001 (information security management).
When You'll Hear This
"We need SOC 2 compliance before signing enterprise contracts." / "The GDPR audit requires a data processing agreement with every vendor."
Related Terms
GDPR (GDPR)
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the EU's big rulebook for protecting people's personal data.
PCI DSS (PCI DSS)
PCI DSS is the security standard you must follow if you handle credit card data.
Security Audit
A security audit is a systematic review of your code, infrastructure, and processes to find security weaknesses.
SOC 2 (SOC 2)
SOC 2 is a trust certification for SaaS companies. It proves to enterprise customers that you take security, availability, and privacy seriously.
Vulnerability
A vulnerability is a weakness in your code or system that a bad guy could exploit. Like a broken lock on a door.