Governance · Risk · Compliance
We help organizations establish and mature security governance—aligning policy, risk, and controls to business objectives, regulatory obligations, and insurer expectations. [oai_citation:1‡The Solutioners GRC Program.pdf](sediment://file_0000000061a061f7ad8ed0204a7f9539)
The primary function of cyber security is to protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability across business operations against increasingly sophisticated attacks.
Monetary and reputational risks from breaches are at an all-time high.
Board-level scrutiny is intensifying because cyber incidents disrupt operations and financial performance.
Legal and regulatory mandates now require demonstrable cyber resilience.
Threat actors continually evolve tactics, tools, and procedures.
Cyber crime has professionalized into a global business model.
Year-over-year growth in attacks spans systems, applications, networks, and data stores.
We align ISO 27005 practices with your business context to generate actionable, prioritized treatment plans.
01 · Identify Assets
Inventory physical and logical assets across business units; map ownership, classification, and dependencies.
02 · Identify Threats
Analyze tactics, techniques, and procedures relevant to the organization’s industry, geography, and partners.
03 · Analyze Risk
Evaluate likelihood and impact using discoverability, exploitability, and reproducibility instead of historical bias.
04 · Determine & Prioritize
Apply a risk matrix (likelihood × impact) to prioritize scenarios and select the right treatment options.
05 · Develop Treatment Plan
Mitigate, transfer, avoid, or accept risks while tracking ownership, budget, and milestones in the register.
Treatment Considerations
The Solutioners GRC program evaluates cyber maturity and designs security architecture tuned to the organization’s risk acceptance level.
People
Empower stakeholders through defined roles, training, and accountability.
Regulations
Map controls to legal, industry, and regional mandates.
Technology
Integrate security tooling, telemetry, and automation into governance.
Business Processes
Embed controls into operational workflows and decisioning.
Customer Requirements
Align delivery promises with security assurances for clients and partners.
Organizational Needs
Balance risk appetite with transformation and growth goals.
Cybersecurity is a board-level, business-risk issue. Our program protects confidentiality, integrity, and availability while improving transparency, efficiency, and accountability. [oai_citation:2‡The Solutioners GRC Program.pdf](sediment://file_0000000061a061f7ad8ed0204a7f9539)
Transparency & Accountability
Improve oversight with defensible evidence trails and policy alignment.
Improved Security
Fortify controls to reduce the likelihood and impact of cyber incidents.
Core Focus
GRC orchestrates people, processes, and technology so the business can move with confidence.
Better Data Management
Consolidate risk, control, and evidence data for faster reporting.
Minimized Loss
Contain financial, legal, and reputational exposure through proactive governance.
Maintained Trust
Demonstrate compliance for customers, investors, and regulators.
Increased Control
Standardize policies, processes, and tooling across business units.
We implement and assess against leading standards and frameworks to match your regulatory and insurer controls landscape.
ISO 27001
Information Security Management
ISO 22301
Business Continuity Management
ISO 31000
Risk Management
ISO 9001
Quality Management
NIST CSF
Cybersecurity Framework
SOC 2
Trust Services Criteria
PIPEDA
Canadian Privacy Law
GDPR
EU Data Protection
HIPAA
US Health Data Security
Alignment does not imply certification; formal certification remains with accredited bodies.
ISO & International Standards
Cyber Security Frameworks & Laws
SOC 2
Assure customers of secure data handling across service providers.
PIPEDA
Comply with Canadian privacy law for collection, use, and disclosure of personal data.
NDMO
Align with Saudi data management and personal data protection mandates.
NIST 2.0 CSF
Adopt a scalable framework to identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover.
CCCS Guidance
Follow Canadian Centre for Cyber Security recommendations for threat protection.
NINT / Sector Standards
Address specialized requirements, including nano-technology environments.
CASL
Respect anti-spam legislation and consent-driven communications.
HIPAA
Safeguard electronic protected health information.
GDPR
Meet EU privacy expectations for data minimization and subject rights.
Module
Module
Module
Module
Module
Module
01 · Review Current State
Analyze the existing GRC framework, controls, and tooling to benchmark maturity.
02 · Assess Business Value
Validate stakeholder objectives and quantify benefits of modernizing the GRC platform.
03 · Select Standards & Frameworks
Align on the right mix of ISO, NIST, NCA, or sector mandates to satisfy obligations.
04 · Choose GRC Solution
Recommend technology platforms and integrations to automate evidence and reporting.
05 · Develop Project Plan
Define timeline, resourcing, and milestones covering policy, technology, and people.
06 · Implement & Operationalize
Deploy controls, migrate data, onboard teams, and embed new workflows.
07 · Monitor & Improve
Establish continuous monitoring, metrics, and iterative enhancements.
We start with a gap analysis to surface strategic, operational, and regulatory requirements early. [oai_citation:11‡The Solutioners GRC Program.pdf](sediment://file_0000000061a061f7ad8ed0204a7f9539)
IT Risk Management
Track technology, cloud, and application risks with aligned treatment plans.
Operational Risk Management
Coordinate process, supplier, and human-factor risks for resilience.
Compliance Management
Maintain policies and procedures with evidence linked to controls.
Policy Management
Govern document lifecycles, approvals, and distribution.
Internal Audit
Plan, execute, and document internal audit activities with risk linkage.
External Audit Support
Package evidence, coordinate responses, and liaise with third parties.
01 · Audit Notification
Alert stakeholders, define scope, and schedule the opening briefing.
02 · Planning
Review prior assessments, prioritize focus areas, and finalize logistics.
03 · Fieldwork / Visits
Test controls, validate evidence, and interview process owners on site or remotely.
04 · Management Response
Deliver draft findings and capture remediation ownership with action plans.
05 · Audit Report
Publish the final report and track follow-up activities through closure.
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) unifies IIROC and MFDA mandates to safeguard investors, uphold market integrity, and harmonize dealer oversight nationwide. Financial institutions need a coordinated response that links governance, risk management, cybersecurity, and privacy disciplines to these obligations.
Mandate & Regulatory Scope
Key Compliance Obligations
Global footprints magnify CIRO compliance challenges through overlapping statutes, cross-border data flows, third-party ecosystems, and increased scrutiny from Canadian and foreign regulators.
Compliance Risk
Holistic exposure to legal, regulatory, financial, or reputational harm from failing to honour obligations.
Operational Risk
Losses stemming from process, people, technology, or external events.
Reputational Risk
Erosion of stakeholder trust following compliance breaches, operational failures, or unethical conduct with cascading financial impact.
Strategic Risk
Misalignment between business strategy and risk management amid regulatory evolution, geopolitical change, and new competitors.
Global Operations Impact
A structured risk register keeps CIRO-driven obligations visible, measurable, and actionable across regions. Use it as a living artefact integrated with enterprise risk, audit, and resiliency programs.
Risk ID
Unique identifier aligned to enterprise taxonomy (e.g., REG-CIRO-001).
Risk Name / Title
Concise descriptor of the compliance exposure.
Risk Description
Clear narrative of causes, obligations, and potential consequences.
CIRO Rule / Obligation
Specific reference to IDPC, MFD, UMIR, or By-Law requirements.
Risk Category
Primary classification such as Operational, Legal, Reputational, Strategic, or Cybersecurity.
Date Identified
Formal logging date to anchor governance cadence.
Risk Owner
Accountable leader or function overseeing the risk.
Inherent Likelihood
Probability score prior to controls using agreed scale.
Inherent Impact
Severity assessment pre-controls considering penalties up to $10M, remediation cost, and brand harm.
Inherent Risk Rating
Combined scoring or heat-map placement to aid prioritization.
Existing Controls
Documented policies, monitoring, technology safeguards, and assurance activities.
Residual Likelihood
Probability after evaluating control effectiveness.
Residual Impact
Post-control severity outlook.
Residual Risk Rating
Current exposure guiding further treatment decisions.
Mitigation Actions / Treatment Plan
Planned initiatives to reduce, avoid, transfer, or accept the risk.
Action Owner
Responsible party delivering mitigation work.
Target Completion Date
Deadline for mitigation milestones.
Status
Progress indicator such as Open, In Progress, Closed, or Overdue.
Review Date / Next Review Date
Most recent assessment and scheduled follow-up.
Escalation Level
Committee or executive trigger when thresholds are exceeded.
Notes / Comments
Context, links to evidence, incident history, or related risks.
Global Impact Consideration
Assessment of cross-border dependencies, data residency, or international scrutiny.
Implementation Principles
Inadequate Cybersecurity Measures
CIRO IDPC Rule 3900 and cybersecurity guidance notes.
Breakdown in cybersecurity controls leading to data breaches, trading disruption, or supervisory failure.
Inadequate AML / CTF Controls
CIRO Rules 2500 and 2600 plus FINTRAC reporting duties.
Weak client due diligence, transaction monitoring, or suspicious reporting enabling illicit flows.
We design for resilience—keeping essential services online during disruption and restoring quickly when incidents occur. [oai_citation:13‡The Solutioners GRC Program.pdf](sediment://file_0000000061a061f7ad8ed0204a7f9539)
Recovery Objectives
Define business-aligned recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO).
Risk & Impact Assessment
Perform threat risk assessments and business impact analyses to prioritize services.
Identify Critical Systems
Catalog mission-critical applications, data, and infrastructure for restoration sequencing.
Data Backup & Immutability
Select backup strategies that balance retention, security, and recovery performance.
Plan Development & Drills
Create BCP / DR plans, execute exercises, and iterate with lessons learned.
We assess the nature, scope, context, and purpose of processing; identify control gaps; propose mitigations (e.g., notices, opt-outs, DSAR enablement); and deliver a final report including residual risk.
Understand Processing
Identify Gaps
Mitigate Risks
Report & Assure
Perform Gap Analysis
Set up assessments to identify employee vulnerabilities.
Assess Training Needs
Align curricula to roles, threat exposure, and compliance mandates.
Set Objectives & Plan
Define outcomes and rollout cadence (monthly, quarterly, annually).
Initiate Training
Deliver personalized content, workshops, and simulations.
Measure Performance
Track engagement, completion, and knowledge retention metrics.
Phishing Simulations
Conduct periodic campaigns and retrain high-risk cohorts.
Evaluate & Revise
Continuously improve materials, policies, and enablement tactics.
Includes periodic phishing simulations, policy enablement, and continuous improvement cycles.
Secure your business with a GRC partner that blends cyber expertise, regulatory insight, and pragmatic delivery.
The information on this page is for general guidance and does not constitute legal advice. Formal certifications are provided by accredited bodies; we support readiness and ongoing conformity. [oai_citation:16‡The Solutioners GRC Program.pdf](sediment://file_0000000061a061f7ad8ed0204a7f9539)