The majority of businesses have migrated their operations to the cloud in recent years. This necessitates giving third-party vendors access to their cloud environments to some degree. In fact, over 80% of businesses have done so.
This is a two-edged sword. Although third-party products and services increase an organization’s ability to compete, they also increase the chances of sensitive data being breached or leaked.
Organizations allowing third-party access to the cloud should secure sensitive data and closely guard customers’ privacy. However, since organizations and the cloud services they use differ, and data privacy is closely regulated and enforced, a standardized means of ensuring compliance is necessary. This is where System and Organization Controls for Service Organizations 2 (SOC 2) is vital.
What is SOC 2, pronounced “sock two,” and how does it work? How does it differ from SOC 1, pronounced “sock one,” and how does it help enterprises ensure compliance?
What Is Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Compliance?
Developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), SOC 2 is a voluntary standard implemented by technology and cloud computing companies to ensure data privacy compliance. It is based on a recognized set of Trust Services Criteria and specifies how organizations should manage client data to ensure security, availability, confidentiality, processing integrity, and privacy. The resulting SOC 2 audit reports indicate what adjustments, if any, have to be made.