As data privacy and security threats continue to become more complex and dangerous, the need for greater information security is more critical than ever for any organization. This is especially true for organizations that outsource key business operations to third-party vendors such as SaaS and/or cloud-computing providers.
Simply put, there should be no room for any data threat to seep through as it puts at risk not only the users whose information is included in the data but also the organization that is entrusting the data to a third-party provider. A type of risk that can spell the death of the organization itself.
For assurance that organizations are entrusting their operations to service providers that will not put their data at risk, certifications and auditing procedures have been set up to ensure that these providers have the necessary data privacy and security measures in place. One such measure is SOC2.
What is SOC2?
SOC 2 is an auditing procedure that ensures that a service provider is securely managing its client organization’s data to protect the interests of the organization and the privacy of the organization’s clients. It is a standard industry-recognized compliance certification used globally by companies to prove their continued commitment to delivering secure and resilient software to their customers.
For security-conscious businesses, SOC 2 compliance is a minimal requirement when considering a SaaS provider. It is also considered a higher level of compliance that customers would seek from a service provider and one that service providers aim to attain.
As such, attaining SOC2 compliance requires a rigorous compliance checklist undertaken by an independent auditor for the company to ensure its securityworthiness.
The certification process
For a service provider to be deemed SOC2 certified, it must take into account a number of key considerations. Some of these considerations would be:
How would the service provider handle workstation management when many team members work from different devices across multiple locations across the globe?
Will the additional security required to pass SOC2 impact the provider’s ability to continue being a distributed remote team?
For providers with a remote setup, how would it be able to pass security checks without a physical office to conduct them from?
SOC2 also requires an increase in the coverage of a service provider’s existing security measures and codify its security processes into a more standard format.
It is critical for a provider seeking SOC2 certification to work with a security vendor, especially one with the knowledge and expertise in SOC2 certification matters to be able to determine the company’s readiness for such certification and ensure its systems and processes comply with the requirement for SOC2.
Things to keep in mind
SOC2 compliance is a long process that involves many personnel and multiple tasks to be accomplished. A service provider looking to achieve SOC2 certification is responsible for ensuring that the areas to be affected by the compliance changes are identified beforehand to avoid disruptions that may be caused by these activities.
Providers looking to comply with SOC2 should also identify beforehand the areas where the organization operates differently from other providers to see if it might be a barrier to compliance completion and address them at the onset. It is also important to make sure that every issue is addressed, even the tiny ones so that they will not become worse and hinder in the certification process later on
It is also important that everyone within the organization is made aware of its certification efforts and how it will affect specific workflows, either temporarily during the certification process or permanently as a SOC2 compliance measure. This would also be an opportunity for the organization to identify and tap the personnel needed to ensure the success of the certification.