SOC 2 Audit Checklist

SOC 2 audits require an in-depth examination of your infrastructure, data, people, procedures and software. To determine what the scope should be for your SOC 2 audit, first identify which Trust Services Criteria (TSCs) apply to your business.

Start by conducting a gap analysis. This will look at your existing procedures, rules and controls to gain a fuller picture of your current security posture and which controls are needed to meet applicable criteria.

Security
Your auditor will perform a SOC 2 audit on your security, taking into account factors like two-factor authentication, strong passwords, firewalls for threat detection, and up-to-date security programs. They may also assess whether your systems track unauthorized access and maintain audit trails.

Preparing and passing a SOC 2 audit takes significant work and may take many months for businesses to set up the necessary controls that meet SOC 2 compliance standards.

An SOC 2 compliance checklist can assist in making sure that your company is prepared to undergo an audit successfully. Utilizing an online SOC 2 audit checklist will keep you organized and prepared throughout the process for increased chances of certification of SOC 2. Trust Services Criteria include Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy as components to consider during certification of an SOC 2 assessment.

Availability
An SOC 2 audit checklist is the ideal way to ensure your business is prepared for an audit with flying colors. By adhering to an established SOC2 framework, your team can gain certification quickly and efficiently – particularly helpful if working with a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

This type of audit examines the availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of your company’s systems as well as whether they meet customers’ needs. Please keep in mind that this type of audit doesn’t certify your business; ongoing monitoring practices will still need to be implemented in order to maintain customer satisfaction.

At the start of any SOC 2 audit preparation process lies conducting a readiness assessment. This helps gain an insight into your current security posture as well as which controls must be implemented in order to meet Trust Services Criteria.

Processing Integrity
Selecting TSCs that will form the basis of your SOC 2 report is an essential decision, taking into account customer business requirements. For instance, if they require you to include Security Criteria then do so; alternatively you might consider including Availability, Processing Integrity and Confidentiality Criteria as well. Determining whether you require Type 1 or Type 2 audits may also play an integral part; Type 1 reports provide management’s description of controls at one point in time while Type 2 assessments examine them more holistically over an extended period.

Preparing for a SOC 2 audit can take months of hard work and manual effort, but with the right tool you can amass hundreds of pieces of evidence within minutes – and get to compliance faster.

Confidentiality
SOC 2 auditing can be an intensive and time-consuming process that takes weeks or months to complete, requiring careful preparation and knowledge of all existing procedures, policies, and controls at your company. New tools or workflows may need to be implemented in order to reach compliance.

SOC 2 audits are performed by third-party auditors to certify that an organization’s internal controls are designed and operating efficiently. They look at five Trust Service Criteria such as Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy to do this assessment.

Before commencing with any SOC 2 audit preparations, it is crucial to conduct a gap assessment or readiness evaluation in order to ascertain where your current systems and processes fall short of meeting all requirements for SOC 2. Once this has been determined, plans can be put in place to close any identified gaps.

Privacy
An SOC 2 audit checklist helps to pinpoint gaps in your security posture and can be tailored specifically to the attestation standard, report type and scope that best suit you and your teams’ needs. Furthermore, after the audit is over this checklist can also serve as a useful way of conducting ongoing monitoring by teams in place after it has concluded.

SOC 2 has become increasingly popular with technology businesses as an accessible, flexible compliance standard. Its five Trust Service Criteria encompass: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, and Confidentiality.

As a service business, you have an obligation to protect the personal data of your customers – particularly sensitive information like their contact number or finances. A SOC 2 audit checklist can assist in meeting this requirement while creating positive customer relationships and meeting other regulations such as PCI DSS or HIPAA.