Clarifying your SOC 2 scope might be challenging. Many firms find it difficult to decide what to put into their audit. Five fundamental areas—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy—are the emphasis of SOC 2.
This page will walk you through determining the appropriate scope for your SOC 2 audit. About ready to simplify your audit process?
Describe SOC 2® and explain its relevance.
A security standard called SOC 2® lets businesses guard consumer information. For companies handling private data, it’s very vital as it fosters confidence and demonstrates data security commitment.
Social 2 Summary
SOC 2® is a methodology for evaluating the data security policies of a company. Five main areas—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy—have particular emphasis here.
These areas—known as Trust Services Criteria—help businesses safeguard consumer information.
Reports on internal security, confidentiality, processing integrity, and client data availability from SOC 2
Independent audit companies check a company’s compliance using SOC 2 audits. Defining scope, doing a gap analysis, and keeping constant adherence to standards are part of the process.
Type 1 audits, which examine controls at a designated period, or Type 2 audits, which gauge control efficacy over at least six months, are options available to businesses.
Trustworthy Services Standards
We now concentrate on the Trust Services Criteria (TSC) building on the SOC 2 summary. The foundation of SOC 2 audits is these criteria. Five basic TSCs—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy—were developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
Every criterion covers certain facets of the data handling policies and information systems of a company.
All SOC 2 reports have as their required basis security. It addresses subjects like access restrictions, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. The other four standards—availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy—are optional.
Companies might decide to include these depending on their client demands and corporate needs. Although adding additional criteria would raise audit expenses, it also shows a more strong dedication to data security and risk control.
This adaptability lets businesses fit their SOC 2 scope into their business policies and activities.
Standard Standards
SOC 2 audits based on Common Criteria. It covers five Trust Service Criteria and consists of seventeen ideas applicable anywhere. These ideas address fundamental facets of information security like incident response, access control, and risk analysis.
Companies have to take care of these standards to provide a strong security system.
SOC 2 audits assess a company’s Common Criteria performance. Examining policies, practices, and systems linked to data protection forms part of the process. To help their compliance initiatives, businesses increasingly rely on solutions such as intrusion detection systems, security information, and event management (SIEM).
Following these guidelines helps companies establish confidence with customers and protect private information.
SOC 2 Governance
SOC 2 guards systems and data against illegal access and security events. Five fundamental areas—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy—are covered by these protections.
Designed to assist companies in handling information hazards, SOC 2 was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 2010.
SOC 2 audits by external certified public accountants evaluate an organization’s controls. Usually resulting from contractual responsibilities, these audits provide advantages like more consumer confidence and lower data breach costs.
To satisfy SOC 2 criteria, firms have to put strong policies, processes, and technological measures into action.
Compliance with SOC 2 goes beyond mere box-ticking; it’s about creating a security and trust-building culture.
Definition of Your SOC 2 Audit Scope
Starting your SOC 2 audit scope requires choosing the appropriate Trust Service Criteria for your company. The basis of a good audit is laid here. Interested further in scoping your SOC 2 audit? Maintain reading!
Selecting relevant Trust Service Criteria
A good SOC 2 audit depends on careful selection of the Trust Service Criteria. Making this decision calls for organizations to give much thought to their business requirements and client expectations.
- Every SOC 2 audit requires security criteria. It addresses defense against system weaknesses, data breaches, and illegal access. Put encryption, intrusion detection systems, and firewalls into use to satisfy these requirements.
- Essential for companies promising ongoing system uptime are availability criteria. To guarantee continuous operation, set up backup systems, extra servers, and disaster recovery strategies.
- The third important for businesses managing financial transactions or sensitive data handling is processing integrity criteria.
- Create output validation systems, error-checking tools, and rigorous data entry rules.
- Relevant for companies gathering and maintaining personal data is privacy criteria. To follow privacy laws, create explicit privacy rules, get appropriate permission, and use data security tools.
- Perform an extensive risk study to find any weaknesses in your systems. Based on your particular risk profile, this lets you choose which criteria should be given top attention.
- Clearly state which systems, programs, and procedures fit each chosen criteria. This guarantees a methodical and successful audit procedure.
- Allocate resources so that suitable staff members and budgets meet the needs of every selected criterion. This might call for buying new security technologies or consulting experts.
- Aligning your selected criterion with additional pertinent criteria such as HIPAA or ISO 27001 can help you simplify compliance initiatives across many systems.
- To better grasp the expectations and worries of important stakeholders—including partners and customers—and get their comments on data security and privacy.
Identifying services inside the scope
Determining the scope of your SOC 2 audit depends critically on the identification of relevant services. This approach enables companies to identify which services should be included in the evaluation and which controls fit them.
- Review all of the offerings your company provides. This covers apps, data storage options, and cloud computing platforms.
- Think about consumer impact and include services directly influencing operations or data. This guarantees the resolution of all relevant security concerns.
- Draw a picture illustrating how data flows via your systems. This makes all possible weaknesses and touchpoints clear-cut.
- Review outside suppliers including sensitive data handling sub-service companies. Their activities might affect your general state of security.
- Clearly state for each service where your responsibility starts and stops. Document system boundaries. This clarifies to auditors the extent of their evaluation.
- Describe the infrastructure, programs, tools, people, and processes required in every service using list system components. This presents a whole picture of your business.
- The eighth is to make sure the chosen services align with the TSCs you have picked for your audit by use of trust services criteria. This keeps one focused on pertinent issues.
- Think of future expansion and include services that could evolve or develop in too distant future. This helps to avoid regular scope adjustments needed.
- Speak with stakeholders: Involve important people from different departments to guarantee no important services get missed. This advances a complete scope definition.
A good SOC 2 audit starts with knowing the right services within scope. Finding the particular policies, practices, tools, and staff members associated with these services comes next.
Designing rules, processes, tools, and staff members
A good audit depends on the identification of fundamental components for SOC 2 scope. Companies have to give much thought to the rules, practices, systems, and staff members they should include. Here is a comprehensive inventory of things to give thought to:
- Guidelines and policies:
- Policy on information security
- Policy for data categorization
- Policies of access control
- Incident reaction strategy
- Change management protocols
- Methodologies of backup and recovery
- Policies for vendor management
2. Mechanisms:
- Infrastructure of Networks
- Intelligence detection systems and firewalls
- Database for client information
- Uses handling private data
- Cloud services applied in processing or data storing
- Critical server operating systems
- Approaches of authentication and authorization
3. Staff:
- Employees of IT in charge of system upkeep
- Staff members of security
- Workers having consumer data access
- Management supervising methods of security
- Third-party suppliers having system or data access
- Internal auditors engaged in tests of compliance
4. The process of risk analysis:
- Approach for spotting threats in information security
- instrument for risk assessment
- Frequency of risk assessments
- Notes on methods of risk reduction
5. Implement control in:
- Technical controls (access logs, encryption)
- Administrative controls—such as background checks and training initiatives—e.g.,
- Physical controls—such as data center security, and device management—
6. Observation and development:
- Tools for security information and event management, SIEM
- Systems of constant observation
- Control effectiveness measurement criteria
- Techniques for handling audit discoveries
Choosing SOC 2 type either 1 or 2
SOC 2 Type 1 reports mostly on the control design at a given moment. They provide a glance into the security policies of a company. Conversely, SOC 2 Type 2 reports evaluate over at least six months both design and operational effectiveness.
This longer-term perspective offers a deeper understanding of how effectively controls change over time.
Selecting Type 1 or Type 2 relies on numerous criteria. These include the maturity of the company, customer needs, and availability of resources. Many businesses find Type 1 audits a useful beginning point as they are frequently less expensive and faster.
Although more demanding, type 2 audits provide a more solid guarantee to stakeholders on the efficiency of security measures.
Difficulties and Factors to Think Through for Specifying SOC 2 Scope
Clearly defining the SOC 2 scope might be challenging. Many times, organizations run into obstacles in this process.
Result of excluding pertinent objects from the scope
Ignoring pertinent things covered by SOC 2 might cause major problems. Organizations run the danger of misalignment with Trust Service Criteria and partial control evaluations. This monitoring might overlook important weaknesses, therefore exposing the business to possible breaches or compliance issues.
Should audit scope deficiencies be found, stakeholders’ confidence may deteriorate.
Poor scoping raises the risk of exposure to a company. Key systems or procedures handling sensitive data may therefore be absent. Proving compliance requires thorough documentation.
Companies might find it difficult to properly show their security policies without appropriate breadth. Relationships with customers, partners, and authorities depending on SOC 2 reports might all suffer as a result.
Prospective yearly scope variations
Apart from filling in scope, companies have to be ready for any annual modifications. SOC 2 audits are not fixed occurrences. They change alongside the systems, procedures, and controls of a corporation.
According to best standards, all controls should be evaluated yearly to maintain compliance. This method allows one to identify any changes that could compromise the audit scope.
Changes in scope might result from many different sources. Changes in systems, new procedures, or updated controls may all affect what requires inspection. Additionally, the required changes are the Trust Services Criteria.
Businesses have to be always sensitive to these changes and early notify their auditor. Good conversations guarantee a seamless audit process and help to avoid last-minute shocks.
Typical problems facing businesses
Defining their SOC 2 scope presents a continuous difficulty for companies. These obstacles could affect the efficiency and success of the audit procedure.
- Knowing the SOC 2 framework: Many businesses find it difficult to absorb the nuances of SOC 2 and its Trust Services Criteria. Ignorance of this kind could result in poor scope choices and waste of resources.
- Finding relevant systems and procedures might be challenging depending on which ones come within the audit purview. Organizations might ignore important parts, therefore jeopardizing the integrity of the audit.
- The third is that 2 audits call for a large time, money, and staff. Many times, businesses undervalue the resources required, which results in hurried preparations and inadequate output.
- Finding and filling any control holes before the audit might be taxing. This procedure could expose surprising flaws in the security posture of the company.
- paperwork management may be labor-intensive gathering and arranging the necessary audit proof and paperwork. Bad documentation methods could complicate the audit process.
- Ensuring all pertinent departments and staff members know their duties in the SOC 2 process might be difficult. Inaccurate or partial knowledge might follow from a lack of alignment.
- Evaluating and controlling outside suppliers’ SOC 2 compliance may be challenging. Reviewing contracts and service-level agreements is a common chore for this work.
- Maintaining compliance between audits calls for consistent effort. Effective monitoring methods and procedures might be difficult for companies to use.
- Changing needs: SOC 2 criteria develop and businesses have to keep current with these developments. Ignorance of adaptation might result in non-compliance and audit failures.
- Strict control implementation to satisfy SOC 2 criteria may contradict corporate operations using security and business demands. Many companies find it challenging to strike the proper mix.
Finally Additional References
Clearly defining SOC 2 scope prepares the ground for an audit gone well. Clearly defined scope enables companies to concentrate on relevant Trust Services Criteria and pinpoint important systems and procedures. It guarantees a thorough covering of security rules and simplifies the audit process.
More consistent SOC 2 reports resulting from accurate scoping help to increase client confidence and trust. See materials from AICPA, ISO 27001 standards, and credible cybersecurity companies for further direction.