Cybersecurity: Know More, Do More
SOC is a (System and Organization Controls), as defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). AICPA has outlined a series of security control guidelines that indicate an organization’s commitment to defining and following those said security controls in the operation of their business and how they handle and manage information and data.
There are actually three types of SOC reports or audits:
SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3. When it comes to cybersecurity, SOC 2 has become the de facto standard.
The reports focus on controls grouped into categories called Trust Service Principles(TSP’s); Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy
There are two levels of SOC2 reports:
Type I, which describes a service organization’s systems and whether the design of specified controls meet the relevant trust principles. (Are the design and documentation likely to accomplish the goals defined in the report?)
Type II, which also addresses the operational effectiveness of the specified controls over a period of time (usually 9 to 12 months). (Is the implementation appropriate?)
It focuses entirely on controls that directly impact the user entity’s internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR).
It offers reporting options beyond financial objectives. It covers controls relevant to the trust services principles (TSP): security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
It has a similar look and feel to SOC 2. However, the SOC 3 report is truncated and has unrestricted distribution. It’s more of a general use report.
The reports focus on controls grouped into categories called Trust Service Principles(TSP’s); Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy
There are two levels of SOC2 reports:
Type I, which describes a service organization’s systems and whether the design of specified controls meet the relevant trust principles. (Are the design and documentation likely to accomplish the goals defined in the report?)
Type II, which also addresses the operational effectiveness of the specified controls over a period of time (usually 9 to 12 months). (Is the implementation appropriate?)
People outside your organization will host, handle, and maintain data on your behalf. The sub-processor will have access to your sensitive information, which leaves you vulnerable to data breaches.
A SOC 2 Type I report demonstrates your commitment to protecting their sensitive data. However, since it represents a point-in-time snapshot, it does enough to woo only small and medium-sized user entities.
The SOC 2 Type II report breaks the glass ceiling. It gives your business the impetus it needs to scale to the next level and bag contracts with large enterprises. These large enterprises know their databases are prime targets for cybercriminals and want to avoid costly hacking incidents.
We will help you determine the right SOC2 for your company.
We will help you build a case study to validate and estimate your ROI.
We will be with you every step of the way through the process.
If your organization maintains its own infrastructure or outsources this to a third party or if you have moved your infrastructure entirely to the cloud or utilizing a public/private hybrid model; understanding where your boundaries are and what you are responsible for can be a challenge. Keeping track of those boundaries, ensuring your policies and procedure are in order and up to date can also tax an already overloaded security team.
Many organizations have very good operating procedures but lack the detailed documentation and policies for those procedures. That is where we can assist and help. Our team can help you setup and establish those controls, methods to track and maintain them, develop evidence support to show that you indeed follow those policies, and manage most of the legwork to pull all those items together in preparation for a SOC 2 audit.
Our goal is to help people in the best way possible. This is a basic principle in every case and cause for success. contact us today for a free consultation.
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