Integrity is a core value at VLS. We engage in open, honest and fair dialogue; hold ourselves and others accountable; and listen with the intent to learn. Compliance is foundational to our ability to deliver environmental solutions in a safe, clean and reliable way, and we remain committed to complying with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations everywhere we do business. These principles guide the way we run our business and build relationships with employees, communities and other stakeholders, as well as manage our environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
We operate in highly regulated industries and comply with all applicable federal, state and local regulations. Compliance helps us safeguard our workplace, prevent pollution and air emissions, work constructively with government agencies and limit business liability.
VLS complies with significant regulatory and permitting requirements from about 50 federal, state and local agencies, and voluntarily complies with ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange).
Our cybersecurity framework, roadmap and related policies help us execute our business strategy and deliver solutions in a secure and reliable manner, while managing risk effectively, mitigating security threats and preventing incidents.
Our Vice President of Information Technology (IT), who reports to the CEO, updates the board on our cybersecurity program, progress and issues.
The VLS cybersecurity program is guided by policies for data protection, endpoint security, identity and access management, network security, physical security, and security awareness and training. These policies meet or exceed the requirements to maintain our cybersecurity insurance policy. VLS employees, contractors and third parties involved with delivering our services are responsible for complying with all of our cybersecurity policies.
Employees receive cybersecurity awareness training during onboarding, and in 2022 started monthly cybersecurity training with end-of-course testing.
To prevent threats, we employ a variety of measures, such as firewall technology, data encryption, VPN (virtual private network) and multifactor authentication, systems monitoring to identify threats and annual penetration testing. We aim for continuous improvement in our cybersecurity measures.
In 2022, VLS made progress on the IT and cybersecurity goals we set in 2020, while successfully integrating four acquired companies into our IT infrastructure and mitigating threats. We experienced no major or minor security incidents. We conducted an internal IT audit in December 2022 and are addressing the findings. We are continuing to strengthen our cybersecurity program in 2023 to accommodate ongoing growth by adding dedicated staff resources, as well as evaluating key performance indicators to measure our results.
To learn more about what VLS service is right for you, or to speak with someone to customize a program to help you achieve your environmental goals, contact VLS Environmental Services.