If you're part of a startup, or just starting along your Compliance journey, you probably have a lot of questions. You’re likely thinking, “Is Compliance something we have to worry about?”, “Which frameworks are required and which are just nice-to-have?”, and “Why is this so dang frustrating?”
One question we hear a lot is “Do I need to be ISO 27001-certified or do we need a SOC 2 report?”. (Though to be quite honest, most companies just starting to think about Compliance do not yet know the difference between reports and certifications.)
This is a great question. In this post, I’ll explain the similarities, the differences, and which one you should go for. I may even throw in another haiku. If you're really lucky.
But to start, let’s get one thing straight; SOC 2 and ISO 27k are both really important InfoSec Compliance frameworks. Both provide organizations with a strong degree of assurance that their partners and vendors have attained a standardized level of commitment to security—and if a business doesn't have at least one of them, they will inevitably lose deals and customer confidence. But though they have some common themes, they are not interchangeable and should not be viewed as such.
Let’s start by introducing ISO 27001. First established in 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization, the goal of this framework is to create a systematic standard for security across all industries. Showing a methodology for security is a core element of ISO 27001 and this is accomplished by reviewing the Information Security Management System. This is referred to as the ISMS, which are the company’s policies and procedures, roles and responsibilities, management involvement in information security activities, budget approval, scope, etc., which reflect ISO 27001’s objectives.
Then there is SOC 2. Established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AIPCA), SOC 2 covers 5 Trust Service Criteria (TSC); Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. Although organizations can choose the criteria they want to be audited for, the Security Criteria, also called the Common Criteria, is mandatory. Once an audit has been completed successfully, the auditor will present the audited organization with a SOC 2 report, which can and should be given to prospective partners.
In both frameworks, after some preparation time, an auditor will go through the organization’s evidence (i.e., data shown to auditors to prove they are indeed compliant with requirements) and decide if the evidence shown indicates that they meet requirements. If it does, they will be issued a certificate in the case of ISO 27k, or a report in the case of SOC 2. If they do not, they will be given an opportunity to close gaps or fix mistakes.
The frameworks are clearly similar in goal; SOC 2 and ISO 27k both signal to potential customers and partners that the business is committed to meeting and maintaining rigorous security standards. Both take a lot of effort, and both can be used globally, with some exceptions (more on that below).
But even though they have many similarities, don't assume they are the same; Let's explore SOC 2 vs ISO 27001:
The good news is that if you meet one framework, you are not all that far off from meeting the other. Integrating SOC 2 or ISO 27001 automation will help organizations to easily meet both ISO 27k and SOC 2 because they cover a ton of the same security controls and cross-map evidence via automation from one framework to the other,
That way, you don't need to put your much-needed brain cells towards deciding whether ISO 27001 vs SOC 2 is a better fit for your organization; instead, you can go for both frameworks and satisfy everyone.