Your system can suffer a security breach and still be compliant. Is this statement true or false?

The statement is true. Compliance with regulations and standards often involves meeting specific requirements regarding the security of systems and data. However, compliance does not guarantee that a system is impervious to security breaches. It's possible for a system to adhere to established compliance protocols yet still experience vulnerabilities or incidents that lead to breaches.

Regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) may require organizations to implement certain controls and practices. If they fulfill these requirements, they are considered compliant, even if unforeseen security incidents occur. Compliance focuses on the processes, policies, and controls that an organization has in place rather than the complete elimination of risk.

This distinction is important because it emphasizes that compliance is about achieving a certain level of security hygiene and following set mandates, rather than achieving absolute security. Consequently, while an organization can be compliant with security mandates, it may still face threats and breaches due to issues like unpatched vulnerabilities, human error, or sophisticated attacks that can bypass even the best safeguards.