Become SOC 2 compliant by meeting the five Trust Service criteria to pass an independent audit. Each organization must design its own processes for compliance, as the certification is not prescriptive, and implement the relevant security controls. Once this is passed, SOC 2 requires ongoing monitoring and an annual review.
It’s important for businesses to be SOC 2 compliant and work with SOC 2 certified partners in order to best protect themselves against information security threats. Trustpair is SOC 2 compliant, protecting both our clients’ sensitive data and bank accounts from fraud.
SOC 2 compliance key takeaways:
- SOC 2 compliance is achieved through meeting the five Trust Service criteria
- The five Trust Service criteria are: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy
- It costs around $30,000 and takes around 3 – 6 months to become SOC 2 compliant
- It strengthens security and operational effectiveness by designing systems around an organization’s ability to protect against data security threats
- It improves operational resilience, data privacy and can be a differentiator during the RFP process
What is the process to become SOC 2 compliant?
Becoming SOC 2 compliant means meeting specific data management and system security requirements to establish trust with your B2B customers and partners. The process involves meeting five trust service principles during a SOC 2 audit, and completing ongoing monitoring to remain compliant and protect customer data. Firms must prioritize design and operating effectiveness in their specific business practices and own controls.
What are the steps for SOC 2 compliance?
1. Define your objectives
The first step is to determine why your organization wants SOC 2 regulatory compliance.
Sometimes, this is driven by customer trust, especially if you have missed out on securing contracts due to a lack of compliance. In some industries, like finance, data and saas companies operating in cloud environments, meeting this criteria is an expectation for service providers.
Alternatively, a history of data breaches may mean that your business has decided to invest in achieving a SOC report to secure the business. Upgrading to security best practices should protect its sensitive information and reputation from further damage.
2. Choose the report you need
There are two types of SOC 2 reports to decide between. Type 1 assesses the security controls at the time of SOC audit, and is generally easier to qualify for. But type 2 looks at controls over 12 months, providing a higher level of reliability, which could be preferred by customers.
3. Perform a gap analysis
Compare your existing digital security measures against the requirements to learn about any gaps that may cost your business its certification. Determine which gaps in regulatory requirements to prioritise in order to meet the standard.
4. Implement security controls
Based on the gaps identified, it’s time to implement the required changes to meet the security criteria. Actual tasks will depend on business need, but can include internal controls such as:
- Defined standard operational procedures, (SOPs) with required security measures and internal organization controls
- Security policies updates, such as in service level agreements, for legal and data governance compliance
- New software installation
- Team training on new or updated processes by certified public accountants
- Risk response planning, scenario testing, and disaster recovery
5. Pass a readiness test and begin the formal audit
Your internal auditor can help prepare you for the formal audit by creating a simulated version, known as a readiness test. Internal reports can familiarize staff across the organization with their individual responsibilities and relevant trust principles during the audit, and identify any last minute gaps that may have been missed.
Once practice is over, it’s time for the true independent auditor and final report.
6. Ongoing maintenance
After you are certified, most SOC 2 reports are valid for one year. Therefore, an audited organization must continually maintain their information security practices in order to re-attest their compliance on an annual basis.
Furthermore, access controls and data centers must be updated to accommodate for new joiners, movers and leavers. Continuous monitoring, alongside updates as data processing and security technology upgrades will support companies in maintaining their SOC 2 certification.
Costs
The cost of becoming SOC 2 certified does depend on company readiness, but is generally upwards of $30,000 per year.
Here’s an approximate cost breakdown of SOC 2:
- General audit preparation, including security consultancy, administrative costs associated with rewriting policies and determining service organization controls: $10,000
- Software costs, including tools and security platforms: $10,000
- Readiness assessment by an external auditor: $10,000
Timeline
Three to six months is a more realistic timeline for most service organizations, considering review, planning, implementation and assessment times. Again, the actual timeline for SOC 2 certification will depend on company readiness. For businesses that already operate to the highest security standards, it can take less than a month.
Why is SOC 2 Compliance Important for Businesses?
SOC 2 compliance is important for business security. By following the highest degree of security measures, you are more likely to protect your business from both accidental and malicious breaches. For example, Trustpair is SOC 2 compliant in order to help keep our business data and our customer data secure.
But it also provides a competitive advantage, as SOC 2 compliance is attractive for third party vendors and customer access. In a vendor management RFP process, firms with SOC 2 are generally favoured over those that are not, even when factors like pricing aren’t equal. That’s because the risk of a data breach, and its associated financial and reputational impacts, is more pressing than small differences in product pricing.
What are the 5 SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria?
The five types of trust service criteria under SOC 2 are:
- Security: focus on protecting information throughout its lifecycle, including data capture, storage, transfer and disposal. The guidelines for security involve risk assessment, controls and monitoring.
- Availability: an organization’s systems accessibility and uptime for operational reliability and resilience.
- Processing integrity: how is data processing integrity maintained even when it’s accessed, treated and transferred?
- Confidentiality: including access restrictions, storage controls and sensitivity labelling
- Privacy: how is personally identifiable information handled and protected in compliance with laws?
SOC 2 Type I vs. Type II: What’s the Difference?
SOC 2 Type I and II have differences in assessment areas, cost and time of preparation and reputational impact. They both aim to minimize security incidents.
It can be hard to know whether SOC 2 type I or type II report is best for your business. Compare the similarities and differences in the table below to figure out which is suitable for your organization:
| SOC 2 type I report | SOC 2 type II details |
|---|---|
| Assesses security controls at a single point in time | Assesses security controls over the course of 3 – 12 months |
| Particular focus on system design and tool effectiveness and suitability | Particular focus on operational resilience |
| Cheaper | More expensive |
| Generally requires less preparation over a shorter time frame | Generally requires more preparation over a longer time frame |
| Useful when you are short on time or need to quickly prove to clients that you can manage customer data, but cannot give the top level of assurance | Useful for providing the top level of assurance as it’s more thorough |
What is SOC 2 Compliance?
Definition
SOC 2 stands for Systems and Organization Controls 2, which references the security protocols that companies must follow to meet the qualification criteria. Compliance is not one size fits all, instead organizations must design their own processes relevant to the trust criteria.
It was introduced in 2010 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Who does SOC 2 concern?
Typically, SOC 2 compliance is a significant challenge for the CISO, but IT and compliance team members will also take on the responsibility.
SOC 2 compliance was brought in to help enterprise-level businesses to validate their level of security, and the security of contracted third parties. So in reality, it concerns all members of these organizations, from C-suite to IT, admin, engineering and marketing.
SOC 2 compliance summary
SOC 2 compliance requires you to audit current security controls and take steps to close any gaps in order to meet the five Trust Service criteria. These are security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. Trustpair is SOC 2 compliant as it’s important for business security, especially as we strive to prevent payment fraud.
