Regulatory compliance predictions for 2010: More regulations, new tech

When it comes to technology predictions, there are a few certainties: Apple will grab the world’s attention with a new product, the iPad; Google will find a way to innovate with Web apps, including Google Voice mobile; and IT security budgets will remain strong this year, despite tough macroeconomic conditions.

David Mortman, a contributing analyst at Securosis LLC and SearchSecurity.com contributor, applied his lens to a less-covered area: regulatory compliance and security. He came away with a conclusion that won’t be shocking to many observers: more regulations, new technology.

As Mortman points out, “There are three different federal identity-theft protection bills working their way through Congress.” Certain provisions of the HITECH Act will go into effect Feb.17, including data breach notifications and extensions to HIPAA.

The fly in the regulatory-compliance alphabet soup, however, is likely to be cloud computing. As Mortman points out, “none of the existing regulatory requirements specifically address cloud computing, and few (HIPAA/HITECH and the FTC’s Red Flags Rule excepted) address outsourcing well.” Scale aside, cloud computing compliance still worries IT managers.

For more on the year ahead in compliance, review our compliance trends:

• Important regulatory compliance trends that will affect IT in 2010
• XBRL, PCI and social media to change compliance in 2010. The top regulatory compliance trends for 2010 include XBRL, PCI DSS, disaster recovery, vendor security management, carbon compliance and social networking risks.