Process Consulting

SOC 2 Reporting

SOC (Service Organization Control)

Get Started

Service Organization Control (SOC) Type 2, developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) in 2013, sets a framework to ensure that service providers handle customer data securely. Its purpose is to safeguard a company’s information and protect client privacy.

A SOC 2 report is an attestation created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Attestation reports are intended for service organizations that store, process or transmit customer data. In contrast to SOC 1, which is focused on financial reporting controls, SOC 2 attests to an organization's information security practices. Their framework is built on five principles called Trust Service Criteria.

A SOC 2 audit is conducted by an independent CPA firm that will evaluate your internal controls to determine compliance with the criteria. The resulting audit report will provide your customers and stakeholders with valuable insight about your security posture. It is more transparent and detailed account about how data is processed and protected and offers a level of assurance that a basic security policy document can never provide.

OUR OTHER SERVICES

  • Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing

    Identify and exploit security weaknesses in your systems before attackers do with expert-led manual and automated testing.

  • Cloud Compliance Audits

    Ensure your cloud infrastructure aligns with regulatory frameworks like ISO 27001, SOC 2, and CIS benchmarks.

  • PCI SSF Compliance

    Align your software development lifecycle with PCI Secure Software Standard to ensure secure design, coding, and maintenance practices that meet modern payment industry requirements.

The Five Trust Services Criteria (TSCs)

The SOC 2 framework allows organizations to determine which of the criteria is relevant for the services offered.

  1. Security (The Common Criteria): This is at the core of the audit process. Security determines if your system is protected from unauthorized access, both physically and logically. Controls in the security criteria include items such as network firewalls, intrusion detection and two-factor authorization, to ensure the security of data in its entirety.
  2. Availability: This characteristic determines whether your systems are available for operation and use as you promised them in your service level agreements (SLA). Availability focuses on system monitoring and performance, disaster recovery and business continuity planning to mitigate downtime, and ultimately, to provide assurance to your clients that they can rely on your service's availability.
  3. Processing Integrity: This principle pertains to if your systems complete, process, and act on their intended functions and do so both accurately and in a timely manner. In processes that contain important calculations or involve data transactions, it is important to ensure that data processing was authorized and aligned with the purpose of the organization
  4. Confidentiality: This characteristic applies to sensitive data that is labelled "confidential." The focus of this criteria, is whether you can keep this data private from unauthorized use or disclosure. Confidentiality controls will often include: data encryption, access restrictions, and employee confidentiality training.
  5. Privacy: While Confidentiality is narrowed to "sensitive data" related to "confidentiality," the fifth principle is concerned about the protection of personally identifying information (PII)

Achieving SOC 2 compliance is a significant investment that moves your organization from simply talking about security to proving it.

  • Develop Unshakeable Confidence Among Customers: The SOC 2 audit report is an excellent way to foster confidence. It provides clients with third-party verification of your security practices, presenting assurance that their data is being handled properly.
  • Gain a Significant Competitive Advantage: Many enterprise customers now require SOC 2 compliance before doing business. Complying with their requirements allows them to have opportunities for larger deals and you become distinct from competitors who have less commitment to security.
  • Improve Security Posture: The process of getting to SOC 2 compliance is going to have you conduct a thorough assessment of your controls and processes. This self-assessment will help you not only locate, but also remediate, vulnerabilities, which will help you become more resilient against cyber threats.
  • Eliminate Vendor Due Diligence: SOC 2 reports will make the sales cycle easier for your organization. Rather than answering a lengthy security questionnaire for every potential client, you are able to provide a complete report that answers every potential client's concerns in one document and saves time for both your organization and your customers.
  • Improve Governance: The framework allows establishes some level of governance for security in your organization. You'll also establish policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities, as well as what is expected of each employee to protect customer data.

Our tailored SOC 2 compliance services are designed to meet you where you are and guide you to success:

  • Comprehensive Gap Analysis: We start by deeply understanding your business and systems. Our technical experts perform an in-depth gap analysis to leverage your current controls against the chosen Trust Services Criteria, providing a straightforward and prioritized roadmap for remediation.
  • Expertly Drafted and Implemented Policy: We don't just give you templates. We work with your team to originally draft and implement customized policies, procedures and controls which are practical for your organization, and meet SOC 2 requirements. At the end of the day, we want to keep controls that work for your organization.
  • Audit Readiness Assessment and Evidence Gathering: We will get you ready for the audit by helping you ensure that the necessary controls are in place and operating effectively. We will also guide your team in obtaining and organizing evidence to provide the auditor, making the process effective and efficient.
  • Dedicated Audit Support: Once the audit begins, we are there with you. We facilitate communications between your team and the CPA firm to help manage auditor requests for information, and to help your team respond to the auditor's inquiries. By being there with you we can help make the process run smoothly.

Ready to see CyberCube in action?

Contact Us

FAQs

A SOC 2 report is an independent audit based on the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria. It shows how your organization protects customer data, that the systems are secure, available, and reliable. This report is often required by enterprises before they will sign contracts with business partners.

SOC 2 reports cover five principles: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. While the organization who is being audited can determine which of the principles are applicable to their service.

SOC 2 compliance will help build trust with customers, save time in due diligence, increase your brand's reputation, and help you stand out in competitive bids. It will also lead to stronger internal processes in your company and create advantage in your information security posture.

SOC 2 readiness includes a review to see where your services measure against the Trust Services Criteria, implement necessary controls and policies, to review evidence, and to prepare documentation for the audit. A focus on readiness will save time and create a better experience for your business when it comes time for certification.