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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Service Organization Control (SOC) audits exist to demonstrate a business or other organization’s readiness in areas like cybersecurity, risk management, data management and other areas. These certifications, especially from SOC 2 audits,  are highly sought-after because they show how dedicated your organization is to the safety and security of user data. These audits, conducted by certified SOC auditors, are intended to be a thorough and rigorous examination of your capabilities and how they promote guiding principles of security, privacy and confidentiality. 

Because of the licensing and authorization structure of the SOC auditing ecosystem, however, it is sometimes difficult to understand the capabilities of an auditor. Even now, some firms advertise SOC 2 audits that take as little as 2-4 weeks! 

This article attempts to dispel the myth of a rapid SOC 2 audit, and why working with trained and dedicated security firms supports better cybersecurity practices. 

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COVID-19 has changed how we work, and as the first third of 2021 comes and goes many IT and cloud companies have adapted. However, companies that still need to undergo SOC 2 attestation, or who still have not done so for one reason or another, might find the current challenges of auditing and compliance under pandemic restrictions intimidating. 

Here, we’ll discuss an overview of some of the challenges that might come up during SOC 2 attestation during COVID-19. Rather than seeing these challenges as hopeless, we believe that, with the right security partner, they are easily dealt with as part of getting back to business. 

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