Whether you’re a small business or a global enterprise, safeguarding sensitive information isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a requirement. SOC 2 is like the supplement that you need for your fitness. But how can you measure the SOC 2 parlance? That’s where SOC 2 Compliance controls come into play.

The SOC 2 compliance framework helps organizations maintain the highest security standards, and implementing the right controls is key to staying compliant and secure in 2024. The SOC 2 Controls list out the requirements based on your organization’s risk assessment, growth stage, and customer demands.

Are you getting more concerned about SOC 2? It’s time to understand the SOC 2 Compliance Controls. In this detailed guide, we will break down the essentials of SOC 2 controls, their types, and how they can help you secure your business.

Understanding SOC 2 Compliance & Controls

SOC 2 compliance refers to a set of criteria that organizations must meet to manage customer data securely. The AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) developed the SOC 2 framework, and it revolves around five “Trust Service Categories”: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. At its core, SOC 2 compliance helps businesses demonstrate their ability to protect customer data.

Key areas that SOC 2 focuses on include:

• Risk management
• Incident response
• Access control
• Encryption practices

On the other hand, SOC 2 controls are the procedures, guidelines, and frameworks you implement to support your information security procedures by preventing and identifying security lapses and oversights.

When preparing a SOC 2 report, an auditor assesses a broad range of measures that are part of the SOC 2 controls, which are developed from the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria. Password management, multi-factor authentication, access control, onboarding, and offboarding are a few instances of SOC 2 controls. It helps the business to remain compliant, ensuring that security, confidentiality, and integrity are maintained.

The Different Types of SOC 2 Controls

SOC 2 controls are divided into various categories, with each tailored to address different aspects of a business’s operational and security needs. The most common SOC 2 control categories include:

1. Security Controls
   • These are designed to protect the system from unauthorized access. They include everything from firewalls, multi-factor authentication, encryption, and more. Ensuring that your systems are well-fortified from external and internal threats is essential.
2. Availability Controls
   • Your business systems must be available and functioning as promised. These controls ensure uptime and accessibility through disaster recovery plans, redundancy, and failover procedures.
3. Processing Integrity Controls
   • These controls verify that the system processes are complete, valid, accurate, timely, and authorized. Your business needs to have a solid structure to prevent errors and omissions during processing.
4. Confidentiality Controls
   • Customer information must remain confidential. These controls implement encryption, data retention policies, and access management to ensure that only authorized individuals can view sensitive data.
5. Privacy Controls
   • For businesses that handle customer data, particularly PII (Personally Identifiable Information), these controls ensure that privacy policies are followed, consent is gathered properly, and data usage complies with legal regulations.

Other Types of Controls-

The Control Environment-

• Demonstrates a dedication to moral principles and honesty.
• Involves senior management and the board of directors in supervising the creation and effectiveness of internal controls.
• Holds people responsible for their internal control obligations while pursuing goals.

Logical & Physical Control

• Regulate physical access to facilities and involve the application of logical access security measures over protected information assets. 
• Among the activities covered by these controls are the issuance of credentials, authorization, modification, and removal of access, as well as the detection and monitoring of procedures to identify changes that introduce vulnerabilities. 

System and operations control 

• Addresses security incident response through a defined incident response program. Change management controls These cover controls about authorization, design, development, testing, approval, and implementation of changes. They guarantee that modifications to data, software, infrastructure, and procedures are in line with organizational goals and do not introduce vulnerabilities.
• Each of these control categories plays a vital role in SOC 2 compliance and ensuring that your business is secure in every aspect. Now, let’s take a look at how to implement these controls effectively.

Controls for change management

• Includes measures for authorizing, designing, developing, testing, approving, and putting changes into practice.
• Make sure that modifications to software, data, infrastructure, and processes don’t create new risks and are in line with business goals.

Controls for risk mitigation

• Includes determining, picking, and creating risk-reduction strategies for probable interruptions to business.
• Involves creating and putting into practice strong incident response strategies to efficiently handle and contain security events.

Implementing The Right SOC 2 Controls For Business Compliance

Successfully achieving SOC 2 compliance requires more than just awareness; it requires actionable steps and proper implementation. To ensure you’re fully compliant, here are key steps to follow:

1. Identify Your Scope
   • Determine which of the five trust principles are relevant to your business. For example, if your company deals with personal data, you’ll need to emphasize privacy controls.
2. Risk Assessment
   • Begin with a detailed risk assessment to understand where your organization may be vulnerable. Assessing your current practices against SOC 2’s framework will help identify areas that require improvement.
3. Policies and Procedures
   • Develop and document security policies and procedures that meet SOC 2 requirements. These will serve as the guidelines for managing your data and ensuring compliance.
4. Leverage Automation
   • Automation tools can help streamline the process of managing and monitoring controls, reducing human error and improving efficiency.
5. Regular Audits
   • Perform regular audits to ensure that controls are operating effectively and remain in line with industry standards.
6. Implement Security Technologies
   • Use technology to enforce SOC 2 controls. This could mean installing firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encrypting data in transit and at rest.
7. Continuous Monitoring
   • SOC 2 compliance isn’t a one-time event; it’s an ongoing process. Ensure that systems are continuously monitored for any security breaches, compliance failures, or risks.
8. Employee Training
   • Your employees play a crucial role in ensuring SOC 2 compliance. Provide regular training so that your workforce is aware of the controls in place and their role in maintaining security.

The Importance of SOC 2 Controls

Adhering to SOC 2 controls is critical for businesses in today’s world of cybersecurity threats. The benefits include:

• Building Customer Trust: Customers want to know that their data is secure. By achieving SOC 2 compliance, your business can demonstrate that you take their privacy and data security seriously.
• Reducing Risk: By implementing SOC 2 controls, you reduce the likelihood of data breaches, cyber-attacks, and operational failures, which can have devastating effects on your business.
• Improved Operational Efficiency: SOC 2 requires businesses to streamline operations and adopt best practices, leading to overall improvements in operational performance.

How SOC 2 Controls Ensure Security?

SOC 2 controls work together to create a comprehensive security framework, ensuring your business is protected from internal and external threats. By addressing various aspects of data security, from user access to incident response, these controls provide a layered defense strategy, ensuring that sensitive information is safe, risks are managed, and security breaches are swiftly mitigated.

• Access Management

One of the cornerstones of SOC 2 compliance is access management. This involves ensuring that only authorized individuals can access critical systems and sensitive information. By implementing role-based access controls (RBAC), companies can limit access to data based on an employee’s role within the organization, preventing unauthorized individuals from viewing or manipulating sensitive information. Additional measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) add an extra layer of security, making it harder for cybercriminals to breach systems even if a password is compromised.

• Encryption

Encryption is a critical component of SOC 2 security controls. It protects data both in transit (when data is being transferred over networks) and at rest (when data is stored on servers). By converting data into an unreadable format, encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted or stolen, it cannot be understood or misused by unauthorized individuals. SOC 2 requires businesses to implement strong encryption protocols to protect sensitive information, ensuring that private data remains secure throughout its lifecycle.

• Incident Response

SOC 2 compliance emphasizes the need for a well-prepared incident response plan. This plan outlines specific procedures for identifying, managing, and recovering from security incidents such as data breaches or cyberattacks. By having an effective incident response strategy in place, businesses can minimize the damage caused by security breaches and quickly restore operations. SOC 2 requires companies to test their incident response plans regularly to ensure they are effective and up-to-date, making them better equipped to handle any potential security threats.

• Risk Management

Security risks can be identified, assessed, and addressed early on by risk management as a proactive process. SOC 2 requires businesses to conduct regular risk assessments to evaluate potential vulnerabilities within their systems. By understanding where risks lie, organizations can implement the necessary controls to mitigate these risks and prevent security breaches. This ongoing process ensures that the company stays ahead of evolving cyber threats.

SOC 2 Controls for Security

To maintain a secure environment and ensure compliance with SOC 2 standards, businesses must implement the following key controls:

• User Access Controls

The use of user access controls ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data and systems. This includes two-factor authentication (2FA) and role-based access to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.

• Encryption

Businesses must implement encryption protocols for data both at rest and in transit. As a result, unauthorized parties cannot read or use intercepted data.

• Incident Response Plan

Establishing an incident response plan ensures that businesses are prepared to act quickly and effectively when security incidents occur. This includes setting protocols for identifying, mitigating, and recovering from security breaches.

• Monitoring and Logging

SOC 2 compliance requires continuous monitoring of systems for suspicious activity. Businesses must maintain audit logs that track access and changes to sensitive systems, which can help identify breaches or unauthorized actions.

• System Firewalls

Firewalls play a critical role in SOC 2 compliance by creating a barrier that prevents unauthorized users from accessing sensitive systems. Proper configuration and maintenance of firewalls are essential for maintaining security.

SOC 2 Controls List for Confidentiality

Confidentiality controls ensure that sensitive data is protected from unauthorized disclosure, whether intentional or accidental. Key controls for confidentiality include:

• Data Classification: Establishing processes for classifying data based on its level of sensitivity.
• Access Controls: Limiting access to confidential data to only those employees who need it to perform their job functions.
• Encryption: Encrypting confidential data both in transit and at rest.
• Data Retention Policies: Implementing policies to securely store and dispose of confidential data.

SOC 2 Controls for Processing Integrity

Processing integrity ensures that system operations are complete, accurate, valid, and timely. Key controls for maintaining processing integrity include:

• Input Validation: Ensuring that all data entered into systems is accurate and complete.
• Error Handling: Implementing processes for identifying, logging, and correcting errors in data processing.
• System Monitoring: Continuously monitoring systems to detect and resolve processing issues.
• Change Management: Establishing a process for managing changes to systems to avoid introducing vulnerabilities or errors.

SOC 2 Controls List for Privacy

Privacy controls focus on protecting personal information from unauthorized access or misuse. Key controls for privacy include:

• Data Minimization: Collecting only the data necessary for the specific purpose and retaining it only as long as needed.
• Consent Management: Implementing processes to obtain and document consent for data collection, use, and sharing.
• Data Subject Rights: Providing mechanisms for individuals to exercise their rights to access, correct, or delete their personal information.
• Data Sharing Agreements: Establishing clear agreements with third parties regarding how personal data will be shared and used.

SOC 2 Security Controls for Availability

Availability controls ensure that systems and data are accessible when needed. Key controls for availability include:

• Disaster Recovery Plan: Implementing a disaster recovery plan that outlines how to restore operations in the event of a system failure or cyberattack.
• System Redundancy: Ensuring that critical systems have redundancy to minimize downtime and ensure continuous operations.
• Performance Monitoring: Continuously monitor system performance to detect and address issues that could impact availability.
• Backup and Restoration: Regularly backing up critical data and systems to ensure that they can be quickly restored if needed.

SOC 2 Controls for Cost Efficiency and Compliance

• Implementing SOC 2 controls may involve costs related to technology, training, and system upgrades. However, the benefits of staying compliant far outweigh the risks of non-compliance. Many organizations find that investing in SOC 2 controls improves their security posture, reduces the likelihood of costly breaches, and enhances customer trust, leading to long-term savings.

What Is The Cost Of Implementing SOC 2 Controls?

Implementing SOC 2 controls can vary in cost depending on the size of your organization, the complexity of your systems, and the resources you need. Generally, the costs include:

• Audit Costs: Typically range between $20,000 to $60,000, depending on the scope.
• Technology Costs: This includes the software and hardware needed to implement security measures like encryption, monitoring tools, and firewalls.
• Employee Training Costs: Ongoing training and compliance programs will require resources to keep your staff updated.
• Maintenance Costs: Maintaining compliance is an ongoing process, requiring continuous monitoring, policy updates, and periodic audits.

What If the Service fails to Meet SOC 2 Control?

Failing to meet SOC 2 controls can have severe consequences for your business:

• Fines and Penalties: You may face significant fines from regulatory bodies.
• Loss of Customer Trust: Failing a SOC 2 audit can result in customers losing trust in your company’s ability to protect their data.
• Security Breaches: Without the proper controls in place, your business becomes vulnerable to data breaches and cybersecurity attacks.

Get Started With Securely 

Now that you understand the importance of SOC 2 controls, the next step is implementing them in a way that ensures continuous compliance. At Socurely, we specialize in automating compliance so you can focus on what you do best—growing your business. Our tools make it easy to manage, monitor, and document all necessary controls, ensuring that you stay audit-ready at all times.

Conclusion

Staying compliant with SOC 2 controls is critical for ensuring the security of your business in 2024 and beyond. By understanding the types of controls, implementing the right ones for your business, and leveraging automation tools like Socurely, you can keep your business secure and compliant with industry standards.