Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 is an information security compliance standard. The standard is set out by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), with certification designed to show that an organization has strong cybersecurity. Attaining SOC 2 compliance can be a benefit for a number of companies. It might be something a business considers when a potential client asks for it, but it could equally be something that they want to prepare before it’s requested.
When tasked with obtaining SOC 2 certification, consultants might be unsure of how to approach it. Compliance requires a robust cybersecurity program and an audit by a CPA affiliated with AICPA. Once given a SOC 2 report, the organization will have a document that can be sent to potential clients to prove their compliance. Despite the name, SOC 2 certification is technically an attestation, rather than a certification.
There are several steps that will need to be completed to obtain SOC 2 certification. Here are some of the things you will need to do.
Choose the SOC 2 Type
There are two types of SOC 2 certification to choose from. SOC 2 Type 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 have several differences that are important to understand before pursuing certification. SOC 2 Type 1 certification evaluates the organization at a specific point in time and evaluates the design of the cybersecurity program. Meanwhile, SOC 2 Type 2 evaluates over a period of time and looks at the execution of the program. SOC 2 Type 2 requires the collection of sampled evidence during the audit, while SOC 2 Type 1 does not.
In other words, SOC 2 Type 1 certification evaluates a cybersecurity program on the day it’s completed, whereas SOC Type 2 certification evaluates it over up to 12 months. For this reason, the latter is usually seen as more valuable. However, it can still be useful to pursue Type 1 certification first and later seek Type 2 certification.
Select Trust Services Criteria
SOC 2 also has several options for Trust Services Criteria, which are areas of focus to be covered in a report. Organizations need to choose from Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. The Security criteria are the only required option and include guidelines on company management, culture, risk assessments, communication, control monitoring, and cybersecurity strategy.
Availability criteria cover the uptime of the vendor’s service, and Confidentiality addresses the IT tools and controls used to keep data confidential. Processing Integrity criteria relate to the secure processing of business data, while Privacy criteria are about how the privacy of personal data is maintained.
Determine the Scope of the Audit
It’s important to determine the scope of your audit before you begin. Smaller companies might audit the entire company as it makes sense to do so. However, larger organizations might not view this as a very practical option. Instead, it might be necessary to take a look at different parts of the organization. This can be useful to help identify where some departments could be doing well and others not so well.
Identify and Address Gaps in Cybersecurity
Using the SOC 2 criteria, you should evaluate cybersecurity performance and determine what needs to be improved. Even if the company is well-established and has a robust cybersecurity program, you can find that it doesn’t meet all of the SOC 2 controls right away. You can conduct a gap assessment by reviewing the data provided by the company and laying out changes that need to be made to achieve complete compliance.
Consultants can help organizations to add controls and improve security. This might involve suggesting certain IT tools to use or procedures that should be put in place. Policies and procedures might need to be adjusted to reach important criteria.
Choose an Auditor
Consultants are often tasked with helping organizations to choose an auditor and might also help by advocating with the auditor on behalf of the organization. This could include ensuring the auditor sets realistic expectations for the company. The auditor should be an AICPA-affiliated CPA who will complete a full assessment of the organization’s cybersecurity.
As a consultant, you can both help organizations prepare for a SOC 2 audit and ensure the audit goes smoothly. By offering the best advice to your clients, you can help them get the best outcome and obtain the correct level of certification. Becoming familiar with the process is the first step to understanding the best ways to achieve SOC 2 certification for organizations of any size so that they can prove their cybersecurity is robust.
