The guiding principles and best practices that businesses must adhere to strengthen their security posture are laid out in cybersecurity frameworks. One such framework, known as SOC 2, applies to technology organisations that handle and store client data in the cloud. Find more information on soc 1 vs soc 2

DESCRIBE SOC 2                                                                                                                                                

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) created the SOC 2 cybersecurity compliance framework. SOC 2 is also known as Service Organisation Control Type 2. SOC 2’s main goal is to make sure that third-party service providers handle and keep customer data securely.

SOC 2 PRINCIPLES 

The SOC 2 standards are distinct for every organisation, unlike other compliance frameworks that contain a set of rules that are the same for all businesses. Each organisation must develop its security procedures to adhere to the five trust criteria based on its operational patterns.

Security: The security concept ensures the protection of data and systems from unauthorised access, generally speaking. To that purpose, you might need to put in place some kind of access control, such as identity management systems or access control lists.

Confidentiality: Data is considered confidential if only a limited number of individuals should have access to it. This might include things like company plans, credit card data, usernames, and passwords, or the source code for an application. Confidential information must be encrypted both in transit and at rest to uphold this criterion. Moreover, follow the concept of least privilege when granting access to private information.

Availability: Systems must consistently fulfil SLAs for availability. To do this, systems with built-in fault tolerance that stand up to heavy loads are needed. Additionally, it necessitates that businesses spend money on network monitoring tools and set up disaster recovery strategies.

Privacy: The organization’s data usage and privacy policy, as well as the requirements outlined by the AICPA in the Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP), must be followed while collecting, storing, processing, and disclosing any personally identifiable information (PII).

Processing reliability: All systems must always operate as intended, without any lags, flaws, faults, or failures. Applications and methods for quality assurance and performance monitoring are essential to achieving adherence to this guideline.

WHAT ADVANTAGES CAN SOC 2 AUDITS OFFER?

• You may enhance your overall security view by using SOC 2 audits.
• Customers feel secure entrusting SOC 2 compliant businesses with their data since they have all the necessary tools and policies to protect sensitive information.
• You forge a significant competitive edge and enhance your company’s reputation as a security-conscious one.
• Achieving SOC 2 compliance may assist you in avoiding data breaches and the associated financial and reputational harm.

IAM AND SOC 2 COMPLIANCE

Identity and access management and SOC 2 compliance go hand in hand. It would be reasonable to argue that without having some kind of IAM in place, you cannot achieve SOC 2 compliance. Access control, a key component of the SOC 2 security, confidentiality, and privacy standards, is enforced with the use of IAM.