Is your company providing services to its customers and your customers are asking you to provide a SOC 2 Type 2 report?
Your clients want this report to confirm your security compliance, to reassure their customers, or perhaps they themselves need to meet information security standards. Therefore, this article is just for you. Here you will learn the main reasons for implementing this certification and what you will get from it because as you know the cost of SOC 2 certification is not cheap.
What is SOC 2?
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) created SOC 2 as a set of security standards to evaluate how well enterprises adhere to five important trust criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, privacy, and confidentiality protection of privacy.
This certification guarantees that the security procedures in place at your business are sufficient to safeguard consumer and business information. Therefore, SOC 2 is crucial for businesses that deal with sensitive information like financial data or private client information.
Various SOC reports
There are five main types of SOC reports:
- SOC 1 – Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR);
- SOC 2 — Criteria for fiduciary services;
- SOC 3 — General Report on the use of trust services criteria;
- SOC for cybersecurity;
- SOC for supply chain.
In addition, SOC 2 also has two types of reports:
- SOC 2 Type 1 – The report demonstrates that the controls are effective on a specific date. For example, a firewall is installed.
- SOC 2 Type 2 – The audit report demonstrates that controls were in place for the full time period. As it stands, the firewall was up and blocking ports properly from January 1st to December 31st.
Why is SOC 2 important?
SOC 2 was developed to assist businesses in fostering customer security and trust. The SOC 2 Type 2 accreditation signifies that the service provider has undergone a series of independent audits for security and privacy measures.
Customers trust your business more
This gives prospective clients comfort that the data they entrust to your business is secure and that you have a security-conscious culture. By earning SOC 2 certification, you can demonstrate to your clients that you value their privacy and security and that you take substantial steps to safeguard their information.
Compliance with laws
SOC 2 also enables you to abide by data protection laws. Regulations governing security and privacy must be followed whenever you keep or process sensitive data, such as financial or medical information. Your ability to demonstrate that you have taken the required precautions to secure sensitive data with the aid of SOC 2 will help you avoid penalties and legal action regardless of the cost of the SOC 2 certification.
Reputation of a reliable partner
SOC 2 can help your business maintain its reputation in the event of a security issue. If you’ve had a cyberattack or data breach, you may show your clients that you did all possible to protect their personal information. This can boost customer trust in your business and hasten the process of recovering from a security breach. Also, as you can read on Underdefense, having SOC 2 accreditation might help you differentiate yourself from the competition and draw in new clients, since it is a symbol of information security maturity.
How to get SOC 2 certificate?
For businesses looking to improve their security and consumers’ confidence, obtaining SOC 2 accreditation is a crucial first step. It’s crucial to remember that SOC 2 is optional, but can provide a business an advantage over rivals despite the fact that the certificate of SOC 2 cost may be different.
First of all, you must employ a third-party auditor to evaluate your company’s security and privacy procedures in order to receive SOC 2 accreditation.
Technical testing, personnel interviews, and document review are all part of the assessment process. The examination often takes a few weeks. Once certified, the rating is good for a year before needing to be renewed.
Before submitting for evaluation, businesses must implement security and privacy measures to comply with SOC 2 guidelines which you can read about on Underdefense. A corporation can schedule an evaluation by getting in touch with a third-party auditor when it’s time for one.
It’s crucial to pick a qualified and knowledgeable third-party auditor for the evaluation. The auditor will offer you detailed suggestions for strengthening security and privacy procedures. In addition, such a specialist will help you determine the specific security requirements of your company and develop a plan to gradually implement changes and meet these requirements. But remember, after a year, the certification must be renewed in order for it to become valid.
How does SOC 2 build customer trust?
So as you can see, the SOC 2 certificate strengthens the trust of customers, proving that your business takes security and information protection seriously. Simply put, for the average customer, this is real proof of your company’s commitment to information security.
Additionally, by doing this, you may persuade them that their information is entirely secure and that you are taking all required precautions to safeguard it.
It’s important to keep in mind that SOC 2 also gives your consumers more information about the security and protection of their personal information. Getting certified is a means to prove that your business takes information security seriously and has the necessary security protocols in place to safeguard the data of its clients. This is a crucial message for your prospective consumers, who are more and more interested in doing business with reputable and secure organizations.
Conclusion
SOC 2 is mandatory for companies that offer online services. Such certification guarantees data security and confidentiality to customers. Which is incredibly important now. Although obtaining SOC 2 accreditation is a complex procedure, it is a necessary measure for conducting business in today’s realities.
And as you can see, accreditation will be beneficial for both your business and its customers. When you ensure the security of information, your customers’ trust in the company will grow. Ultimately, this can help you retain current customers and attract new ones.
Thus, SOC 2 is one of the most important information security standards for companies of all sizes. And like any certificate, it requires compliance with relevant information security standards. SOC 2 accreditation is an important step in strengthening your customers’ trust in your business and ensuring that their data is protected.
