SOC 2 is a Pain in the PAST

SOC 2 is one of the most prominent subjects in Information Security. Infosec leaders are constantly concerned with this set of requirements when working in the cloud or with cloud-based products, and it’s nearly impossible to talk about compliance without mentioning this ever-hot topic.

Where Did SOC 2’s “Bad Reputation” Come From?

But as important as it is (or perhaps, due to its importance!), SOC 2 has somewhat of a, shall we say, negative, reputation. While the intention behind SOC 2 is to ensure that the proper controls to support and uphold security are continuously adhered to, the many processes associated with preparing for an audit tend to leave infosec leaders pulling their hair out. Here are some of the most common frustrations we hear about:

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1. SOC 2 lacks tools to help with staying compliant and requires a great deal of professional services in order to comply. CISOs and compliance managers continuously find themselves asking for controls evidence, relying on colleagues and other stakeholders to cooperate with collection processes;

2. It specifically doesn’t have a checklist manual. There is the Trusted Service Criteria (TSC), which Compliance managers use as a guide, but it’s open to interpretation, and each company uses its own, which opens a huge gap in the communication between the essential parties dealing with Compliance;

3. Skipping or ignoring SOC 2 is pretty much an impossibility. While this is a good thing, as it means stepping up and taking a proactive approach to organizational security, it requires a whole lot of effort;

4. The gap between auditor requests and the ability to satisfy them with no prior knowledge causes delays and infinite back-and-forth communication. Moreover, this lack of key information due to insufficient communication can negatively impact the whole process;

5. And it doesn’t end there. Whenever a company scales, InfoSec Compliance efforts typically need to expand as well. It’s like Stan Lee taught us: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

But this is a post about the PRESENT, not the past.

SOC 2 Isn't a Nightmare Anymore

The world has changed, and along with it, the way we do automation. One of the beauties of living in 2021, with all its pros and cons, is that the compliance ecosystem no longer needs to be limited by insufficient technology. And we’re seeing the start of this transformation, wherein deep-rooted pain points can be reshaped into a true Compliance-utopia.

An awareness of these challenges has enabled the development of much-needed solutions that effectively take the frustration out of meeting SOC 2 requirements.  

From Pain to Gain

Now companies can:

• Scale without expanding their SOC 2 efforts (or any other Compliance efforts, for that matter)
  How: Through automation. New automation platforms can enable the majority of your controls to adhere to auditor requests. With an evidence collection process that’s almost entirely automated, infosec compliance managers won’t need to continually prove the existence and accuracy of their evidence. Compliance platforms can provide young companies an easy-to-implement control environment, and more mature enterprises can customize it to fit their existing control environment, while still gaining the benefit of other frameworks and the mapping to evidence.
  

• Reduce time, while INCREASING security
  How: Automated evidence collection, with a centralized workspace containing all the up-to-date controls information, saves time and improves security posture. At every moment, you can see what controls are in place, how they are implemented and their status. Essentially, you have the ability to change your work methodology from reactive to proactive, and achieve an “always aware” security state of mind.

• Get complete control of sensitive data
  How: By gathering all your sensitive data in one place, you become less vulnerable and more in control of who accesses your data, when they access it, and for what reason.

“I’ll Believe it When I see it”

I know you’re reading this blog put out by anecdotes, which develops a Ccompliance platform for Infosec Leaders and perhaps thinking that we’re just a bit biased here. So you have every right to be skeptical when we say SOC 2 can be automated, easier, and faster. 

But what can we say? It’s true. And we take great pride in pioneering this transformation, with our bold yet achievable goal of ushering compliance into the cloud age.

And for the first time ever, you won’t have to expand your Compliance efforts while you scale your business.