SOC 2 Compliance Guide: Everything You Need to Know

SOC 2 Compliance

What is SOC 2 Compliance?

SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2) is a cybersecurity compliance framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It is specifically designed for service organizations that store, process, or manage customer data. SOC 2 ensures that these organizations adhere to the Trust Services Criteria (TSC), which include the following principles:

  1. Security: Protecting systems and data against unauthorized access.
  2. Availability: Ensuring systems are operational and meet agreed-upon performance levels.
  3. Processing Integrity: Guaranteeing that system processing is complete, valid, accurate, and authorized.
  4. Confidentiality: Protecting sensitive information from unauthorized disclosure.
  5. Privacy: Ensuring personal information is collected, used, retained, and disposed of in compliance with privacy policies.

SOC 2 compliance is not a one-size-fits-all framework. It is tailored to each organization’s unique operations and systems, making it highly flexible and adaptable. Achieving SOC 2 compliance demonstrates an organization’s commitment to securely managing customer data, building trust with clients, and meeting regulatory requirements.

What is a SOC 2 Audit?

A SOC 2 Audit is an independent assessment conducted by a certified third-party auditor to evaluate whether an organization complies with the Trust Services Criteria. The audit process typically involves the following steps:

  1. Scoping: Defining the systems, processes, and services that will be evaluated during the audit.
  2. Readiness Assessment: Conducting a pre-audit review to identify gaps in compliance and prepare the organization for the formal audit.
  3. Evidence Collection: Gathering documentation and evidence to demonstrate compliance with the Trust Services Criteria. This includes system architecture diagrams, monitoring reports, access control policies, and more.
  4. Testing: The auditor tests the controls in place to ensure they are operating effectively. This may involve reviewing logs, interviewing employees, and inspecting configurations.
  5. Reporting: After the audit, the auditor provides a SOC 2 report, which includes:
    • Type I Report: Evaluates the design of controls at a specific point in time.
    • Type II Report: Evaluates the operational effectiveness of controls over a defined period (e.g., 6 or 12 months).

The SOC 2 audit process is rigorous and requires organizations to implement robust security measures, document their processes, and continuously monitor their systems.

General Controls Checklist for Web apps for SOC 2 Compliance

System Architecture Requirements

  1. Database Encryption

    • Provide evidence that the database is encrypted.

  2. SSL/TLS Encryption

    • Provide evidence that secure communication tunnels are in place.

  3. Firewall Utilization

    • Provide a screenshot of the firewall ruleset for the production environment.

  4. Load Balancing

    • Provide a configuration screenshot or file displaying that load balancing is in place.

  5. Network Diagram

    • Provide a non-technical network diagram (JPEG/Visio/PNG) illustrating a conceptual view of sites and basic topology.

  6. Path of Authentication Method

    • Describe how users authenticate to the production servers.

  7. Separate Environments

    • Provide a screenshot evidencing that production is separate from development and QA environments.

  8. Antivirus Protection (Production Servers)

    • Provide evidence of the use of an antivirus system on production servers.
    • Provide configuration screenshots evidencing:
      • Updates
      • Scanning
    • Recommendation: If you are using AWS Cloud, use AWS GuardDuty service.

System Monitoring Requirements

  1. Monitoring Alerts

    • Provide an example alert from the monitoring application generated when a threshold was exceeded.
    • Provide a configuration screenshot showing where alerts are sent.

  2. Monitoring Reports

    • Provide a sample of the reports the monitoring application can generate.

  3. Network and System Monitoring

    • Provide screenshots of the tools used for monitoring network and system capacity levels.

  4. Server Patching

    • Provide evidence displaying that patching on servers has been performed recently.

  5. Changes and Event Logging

    • Provide a sample of alerts or reports showing event logging (e.g., user login, wrong password attempts, deletions).

  6. File Integrity Checking

    • Provide evidence of the use of a file integrity checking system on production systems.

  7. Security Bulletin Subscription

    • Provide screenshots evidencing that management is subscribed to IT security bulletins.
    • Examples: US-CERT.gov, SANS.org.
    • Recommendation: AWS Security Bulletins (free with AWS account).

  8. Vulnerability Test Results

    • Provide the most recent results of vulnerability assessments performed.
    • Recommendation: Use tools like Intruder.io or Qualys.
    • Expected Standards: OWASP Top 10, CVE Database, CIS Benchmarks, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, etc.

  9. Backup Job Monitoring & Notifications

    • Provide an example alert from the backup system.
    • Provide a screenshot of backup application configurations demonstrating automated notifications.

  10. Restore Testing

    • Provide documentation (e.g., a ticket) of restore job completion, including screenshots to evidence a successful restore.
    • Recommendations:
      • AWS Backup
      • RDS/Aurora database snapshots restore process
      • For self-hosted databases, implement a custom job that is tested and successfully restores the database during incident recovery.

Conclusion

SOC 2 compliance is essential for organizations that handle customer data, as it demonstrates a commitment to security, privacy, and trust. By understanding the SOC 2 framework, preparing for audits, and obtaining a SOC 2 compliance certificate, organizations can build stronger relationships with clients and stakeholders while ensuring their systems are secure.

If you’re looking for assistance with SOC 2 compliance, feel free to reach out. Let’s work together to secure your systems and achieve compliance!