What is SOC 2?
SOC 2 (Service Organization Control Type 2) is a cybersecurity compliance framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that helps manage customer data within the cloud. SOC 2 is an auditing procedure that specifies high standards of data security on five “trust service principles”—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. SOC 2 specifies more than 60 compliance requirements and extensive auditing processes for third-party systems and controls. Complying with SOC 2 audit helps maintain best-in-class security standards and unlock significant growth opportunities.
Why SOC 2?
The growing threat landscape and data breaches make data security a top priority for enterprises to protect customer data from unauthorized access, security incidents and other vulnerabilities. SOC 2, NIST CSF, and ISO 27001 are all different frameworks that help to improve data protection and cybersecurity posture. The main objective of SOC 2 is to ensure that third-party service providers Istore and process customer data in a secure way. SOC 2 framework supports requirements for maintaining high data security standards based on five trust service principles: security posture, privacy, availability, confidentiality, and processing integrity. It helps to catalyze modern Identity and Access Management capabilities like multi-factor authentication, identity federation, identity lifecycle management, granular access control and data security and privacy.
The basic SOC 2 compliance checklist covers the following security standards:
- Access controls: Prevent unauthorized access with logical and physical restrictions on assets.
- Change management: Manage changes to IT systems and prevent unauthorized changes.
- System operations: Control and monitor operations and detect and remediate threats.
- Mitigating risk: Identify and mitigate security risks.
What are the benefits of complying with SOC 2?
Complying with SOC 2 demonstrates that an enterprise maintains a high level of information security, data privacy, availability, confidentiality and processing integrity and enables an organization to:
- Improve an enterprise’s overall security posture.
- Safeguard sensitive information and ensure customer trust, using the right security tools and procedures.
- Improve brand reputation and establish a formidable competitive advantage.
- Avoid data breaches and consequential financial and reputational damage.
What’s the difference between SOC 1 vs SOC 2?
SOC 1 and SOC2 are unique compliance standards, both regulated by the AICPA. SOC 1 focuses on financial reporting, whereas SOC 2 focuses on compliance and business operations.
SOC 1 Vs. SOC 2
| SOC 1 | SOC 2 | |
| Objective | A SOC 1 audit covers the processing and protection of customer information across business and IT processes. | A SOC 2 audit covers all combinations of the five principles including security, privacy, availability, confidentiality, and processing integrity. |
| Audit Intended for | The CPA of the audited organization’s managers, external auditors, user entities and CPAs who audit their financial statements | Compliance managers, executives, business partners, prospects, compliance supervisors and external auditors of the audited organization. |
| Audit Used for | Helping user entities understand the impact of service organization controls on their financial statements. | Overseeing service organizations, supplier management plans, internal corporate governance and risk management processes, and regulatory oversight. |
