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- ABOUT THE UCF
- Which UCF Package is Right for You?
- The Science of Compliance eBook
- UCF Controls
- Research Sites List
- Authority Documents
- Authority Documents In-Depth Report
- Language of Compliance
- Citations
- Metrics Standards
- Roles Definitions
- Monitored Events
- Compliance Docs
- Config Management
- Information Classification
- Audit Guidelines
- XML Database Files
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Why Choose the UCF?
The Unified Compliance Framework™ is unique; it's the only industry-vetted compliance database that reduces the regulatory maze to a much smaller set of "harmonized" controls, giving you a single point of management over hundreds of complex compliance requirements from around the world. We help you map the overlap between multiple authority documents, create your control list for specific IT areas, and clarify any conflicts created by overlapping authority documents.
Reduce Compliance Cost and Complexity
The Unified Compliance Framework (UCF) makes your job easier by reducing the cost and complexity of compliance by identifying the "harmonized" controls across authority documents, including PCI for retailers, SOX for accounting practices, HIPAA for healthcare, NIST for the government, NERC for energy suppliers and hundreds more.
Real World Delivery of Governance Information
The UCF's architecture was specifically designed for the delivery of the information necessary to establish governance methodologies. That is what separates the UCF from all other models and GRC architectures – it is the one information architecture built on the solid ground of reality and the real world delivery of governance information.
Because of its unique data architecture, and its grounding in the science of compliance, only the UCF is capable of tracking an enormous variety of Authority Documents as well as their changes, their individual originators and issuers, their terms and acronyms, and then threading them into the framework’s database in a meaningful way so that a harmonized list of controls can be created and maintained.
(Registered users, click here to view the controls mapped into the UCF (in html format) or click here to register. To request a free sample or a live demo, click here.)
Create Necessary Governance Tools
And from that harmonized list of controls, only the Unified Compliance Framework can then provide a transparent and directly linked structure to create the corporate governance tools necessary to implement the compliance process. Tools such as:
- Metric standards
- Role definitions
- Information Classification guidelines
- Configuration Management guides
- Compliance Documents such as policies, standards, and procedures; and audit guidelines
Simplify and Centralize Your IT Compliance Efforts
- Eliminate duplicate efforts by asserting compliance across multiple authority documents simultaneously
- Simplify your regulations requirements by clarifying conflicts created by multiple overlapping documents
- Save time by creating a single point of control over hundreds of complex regulations, requirements, and guidelines
- Limit your legal liability by drilling down for explanations and sources for each common control
Free Updates
We keep you and the UCF up-to-date by tracking all new IT regulations, standards, guidelines, and other authority documents, and providing updates four times a year at no additional charge.
The Science of Compliance
By applying the scientific method to compliance -- rigorously testing best practices and methodologies as well as analyzing and organizing information in a rational format -- Network Frontiers has developed a logical approach to IT compliance that reduces cost, limits liability, simplifies the compliance process, and leverages the value of related technologies and services across the enterprise.
(Registered users, click here to view the controls mapped into the UCF (in html format) or click here to register. To request a free sample or a live demo, click here.)
Who We Are
Since 1992, Network Frontiers has developed ground-breaking tools to support IT best practices with a special focus on regulatory compliance, metrics, systems continuity, and governance. Developed in 2005, the Unified Compliance Framework is Network Frontiers' flagship product. The UCF's content and methodology is the direct result of Network Frontiers' deep understanding of IT regulations and standards as well as decades of experience consulting for clients, publications, and vendors in the mission-critical IT arena.
Who Developed the UCF?
The Unified Compliance Framework represents original research by Dorian J. Cougias, founder and Lead Analyst of Network Frontiers LLC and his research partner Marcelo Halpern of the international law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP which oversees all legal aspects of the UCF, together with input from our field editors worldwide.
The UCF was developed to answer several questions:
- Can the organization's existing controls be used for attestation under multiple regulatory initiatives?
- Which regulatory initiatives overlap the others?
- Which regulatory initiatives fill the gaps left by others?
In order to answer these questions, thorough and in-depth research into the technical as well as legal interpretations of each authority document in question had to be undertaken. As a result, Network Frontiers and Latham & Watkins have cornered the market with the largest, broadest compliance methodologies in the world, including methodologies for solid research, cross referencing, glossary, fact checking, and editorial to maintain the high standards enjoyed by the vendors and end users of the Unified Compliance Framework.
Dorian J. Cougias
Dorian J. Cougias is the Lead Analyst of the UCF and co-founder of Network Frontiers, a company focusing on the science of compliance, including harmonization methods, metrics, systems continuity, and governance.
Over the last sixteen years, Dorian has overseen the establishment, sale, and re-launch of Network Frontiers, has served as CIO of two of the leading advertising agencies in the world, and has served as CEO of an international software company. He has written and spoken extensively on all matters of information technology, is a leading expert witness, and has won numerous writing and speaking awards.
Dorian serves as an adviser or working group member to the Payment Card Security Council, Financial Technology Forum, and other industry organizations. He is also an Emeritus Professor of Technology, lecturing and serving on the board of advisers for the University of Delaware; College of Human Services, Education, and Public Policy.
As the primary architect of the Unified Compliance Framework (UCF), Dorian and his research partner, Marcelo Halpern of the international law firm Latham and Watkins, have created the first and largest data structure and accumulation of content for governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management. The UCF features 3,000+ harmonized controls across hundreds of authority documents, allowing companies to easily and transparently accelerate their IT compliance and governance.
Dorian and his team continue to work extensively with application and hardware developers such as Archer, Microsoft, McAfee, LockPath, Lumension, OpenPages, Nitro Security, eGestalt, and others.
Marcelo Halpern
Marcelo Halpern, a partner in the Chicago office of the international law firm of Latham and Watkins, is Chair of the firm's Global Technology Transactions Practice Group.
Marcelo has provided representation and advice to global "Fortune 100" companies, start-up and emerging growth companies, domestic and foreign governments, as well as traditional Chicago and Midwest based companies. His experience includes structuring and negotiating technology-based strategic alliances and joint ventures; domestic and international outsourcing transactions; internet exchanges and marketplaces; software, database and content licensing; counseling on digital strategy concerns including internet security, data acquisition, and privacy issues; ISP, ASP, hosting, and software services agreements; internet advertising and sponsorship agreements; technology development and co-development transactions; ERP implementation transactions; private labeling, co-branding, and other marketing and distribution strategies; venture capital investments; and mergers and acquisitions involving technology companies or intellectual property assets. Marcelo also provides general corporate representation to software, consulting, internet, ecommerce and technology companies.
Mr. Halpern has been recognized in Chambers' USA Guide to Leading Business Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and in Illinois Leading Lawyers Network. He currently serves on the Board of Editors for The Internet Newsletter and for The E-Commerce Law Report and formerly served on the Board of Directors, and as Secretary and Treasurer for the MPEG-4 Industry Forum, a nonprofit international organization dedicated to the promotion of technological standards in digital media. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Computer Law at The John Marshall Law School in both its JD and LLM programs. Marcelo is a member of the American Bar Association (Section of Science and Technology), the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association (Computer Law Committee), and the Computer Law Association. Marcelo also serves on the firm's also serves on the firm's Diversity Scholars Program Committee and Technology Committee.
Prior to joining Latham & Watkins, Marcelo was a partner in the Chicago law firm of Gordon & Glickson LLC, where he led that firm's internet and e-commerce practice group. Prior to attending graduate school, Marcelo served as vice president of a software development and consulting firm and worked as a software systems developer and manager.
Education
J.D., Columbia Law School, 1992
Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; Associate Editor,Columbia Business Law Review
M.B.A., Columbia University Graduate School of Business, 1992
Beta Gamma Sigma
B.A., Wesleyan University, 1985
Management
Craig Isaacs
Craig Isaacs is CEO of Network Frontiers and is responsible for making the Unified Compliance Framework the cornerstone of IT compliance. Prior to joining Network Frontiers, Craig was president of Neon Software through their acquisition by SolarWinds. Craig was responsible for shepherding Neon's award-winning LANsurveyor software into the market and securing its place as the number one selling automated network documentation tool with Microsoft's release of LANsurveyor for Microsoft Office Visio.
Prior to Neon Software, Craig spent 10 years as vice president, sales and marketing, for Dantz Development Corporation (now a division of EMC). During his tenure at Dantz, the organization achieved greater than 90% market share for Retrospect in the Macintosh market and released Retrospect for Windows with OEM agreements from key hardware vendors, including Sony and Maxtor.
Craig has also held international sales, strategic marketing, and product management positions at a number of other technology companies, including UNIX 4GL/RDBMS vendor Unify Corporation.
Craig received a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara.