SOC 2: Trust Services Criteria and Secure IT in 2022

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With COVID-19, always-online eCommerce and the migration to remote, distributed workforces, IT security is more important now than ever. In some industries, regulations can dictate the privacy and security requirements that every organization must meet. In others, those regulations may be less rigorous or even non-existent. That’s why many organizations turn to additional frameworks to shore up their approach to security. That’s where SOC 2 comes in. 

Service Organization Control (SOC) is a standard put into place by the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) to help financial institutions protect client and customer data. Because the framework is robust and focused, many organizations opt to achieve certification as part of a larger security and customer relationship strategy. 

In 2022, after such dynamic shifts in our lives (particularly those tied to digital information), SOC 2 is more important than ever. Specifically, the five Trust Criteria can serve as the backbone of modern privacy and compliance strategies. 

 

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What Is the HITECH Act, and How Can I Be Compliant?

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HIPAA was passed into law in 1996–not exactly the heyday of digital technology. It wasn’t until over a decade later that Congress decided to implement updates to the law to address the rise of digital technology. Their goal? To push providers to update their record-keeping to Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, secure those systems effectively, and eliminate the loopholes that would prevent adherence to the law. 

Thus, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, was born. Here, we’ll discuss some of the changes that HITECH made to HIPAA law and how that informs the compliance obligations of businesses in the healthcare industry. 

 

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What Is the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)?

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The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) was a landmark law passed in California to support data privacy and consumer rights. As time has marched onward, new technologies and insights from stakeholders have introduced new approaches to the challenges addressed by CCPA. That’s why Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), was drafted and passed into law. 

With the provisions of CPRA set to become operative on January 1 of 2022, businesses must understand the shift from CCPA to CPRA.

 

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