SOC 2 Audit Reports

SOC 2 audit reports are designed for service providers storing customer data in the cloud. It applies to nearly every SaaS company, as well as any business that stores customer information in the cloud. These audits require companies to set and follow strict information security policies and procedures. A successful audit provides a report by a third party, verifying compliance. DIGIGUARD experts can advise and prepare your SMB for successful SOC 2 audits so that you can:

• Gain access to new markets requiring audit compliance
• Add marketing and sales advantage
• Provide confidence in your company’s information security

SOC 2 Type I and SOC 2 Type II

A SOC 2 Type I report attests to the design and documentation of a service provider’s controls and procedures as of a specific date or point in time. However, the Type I report does not cover the actual operation of the controls. A Type II report also provides the same evidence as Type I, but views operation over a period of six months or more for more continuous attestation. We may advise your business to begin with a Type I audit and move on to a Type II for subsequent audits. This starting point allows your business to focus on system description and gives you time to mature your system for subsequent audits. For both Type I and Type II audits, DIGIGUARD consultants will look at the following items:

• Scope – Determining which business portions are included
• Risk – Assess to determine areas of unacceptable risk
• Gaps – Uncover areas of vulnerability and missing controls
• Readiness – Assessing evidence of readiness to proceed with the audit

SOC 2 Compliance Areas

SOC 2 is a technical audit that requires companies to establish and follow strict policies and procedures to protect customer data in the cloud. Compliance with SOC 2 is an increasing requirement by vendor and partner contracts. DIGIGUARD consultants are data security experts and will ensure that these critical areas of compliance are addressed:

• Monitoring processes – Unusual system activity, changes, user levels, known threats, unknown threats, internal and external threats
• Anomaly alerts – Establish normal baseline activity and set alerts for modification of controls or data, unusual file transfers, privileged access attempts
• Detailed audit trails – Incident root cause and cloud contextual insight to respond to cyberattacks and incidents
• Forensics – Detect and mitigate security incidents for fast remediation and corrective measures

Preparing for SOC 2 Audits

SOC 2 reports will evaluate a business’s non-financial reporting controls, relating to five standard trust criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy of your system. DIGIGUARD will help you choose one to five of these area controls for reporting, and take these steps to ready your business for third-party attestation:

• Choose reporting period – One to two times per year, with six month minimum for SOC 2 Type II
• Determine controls to be evaluated – Review industry, legal and contractual requirements
• Gather documents – Organizational charts, change management information, asset inventories, and employee hiring processes
• Conduct gap analysis – Detect issues before your official SOC 2 audit, leave time for remediation
• Meet with auditor – Address specific concerns in the preparatory phase

DIGIGUARD can help your SMB prepare for SOC 2 audits. Contact us today to get started.