Top 5 SOC 2 Mistakes Companies Make

Cyber breaches affect brand reputation and can impact your bottom line. Besides the fines that come with such breaches, customer trust will decline. They will take their business elsewhere where data security is a priority.

Systems and organizations control (SOC) 2 compliance assures your clients that their information is safe. It builds customer-business trust and helps build a good brand reputation. Hence, SOC 2 compliant organizations are more likely to attract business.

Cybersecurity costs will rise to over $10 trillion by 2025. And following SOC 2 regulations could be the first step towards keeping your business and customer data safe. It ensures you have the appropriate security controls and standards set up. 

But an SOC 2 audit can be overwhelming, especially when you are conducting the audit for the first time. One can quickly fail the SOC 2 audit due to common mistakes observed over time. They are always avoidable mistakes that can undermine your audit. 

So, if you will run a SOC 2 audit soon, it is worth understanding the common mistakes that most companies make during the process. It will help avoid them to ensure you don’t fail the audit. Here are the top SOC 2 mistakes companies make:

1.Failure to Conduct Readiness Assessment

You should ensure everything is in order before engaging an external auditor. A readiness assessment can select the controls to be audited. Also, it helps your organization know missing controls or controls that have no documentation. 

Without a readiness assessment, you can have control gaps and failures captured by an external auditor. Get the right expertise or consultant to help you with your readiness assessment to make the final auditing process smooth and successful. 

2. Not Defining the Scope of the Audit

A smooth audition process also requires that you define the scope. This will help you and the assigned auditor to know exactly what to check. SOC 2 compliance audits your control and security policies fall in these key categories: 

• Security
• Availability of service
• Privacy
• Confidentiality
• Integrity

They can also be summarized under the IT security CIA triad, which stands for confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It is common to forget to include new systems, control policies, and processes that increase workload and delays. 

The final SOC 2 audit depends on the processes and control policies you marked during the planning phase. Hardly do they go out of the planned scope. If the report did not capture the new systems and control policies, you might need to conduct a new SOC 2 audit. 

You should include any new process, control policies, and systems in the plan. They should be captured in your readiness assessment report to ensure you are within the defined scope. It can help save time and avoid conducting another SOC 2 audit.  

3. Failing to Name a Project Manager

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You will reduce the chances of better SOC 2 results without assigning a project manager. The SOC 2 audit scope is extensive. It involves collecting information on systems across HR, operations, databases, etc. Documentation of these systems spreading across the business functions is also evaluated. 

A dedicated project manager can streamline the communication between various departments. They will also ensure critical and sensitive information stays within the organization during the process. 

About 70% of projects fail, and having a competent project manager is a step toward avoiding being part of that statistic. The project manager will ensure only the planned security controls are audited, and needed resources are provided to aid the process. It will save time and prevent frustration for both parties. 

4. Assuming the SOC II Solves All Cybersecurity Issues

Being SOC 2 compliant will genuinely improve your organization’s performance and security systems. However, SOC 2 compliance is not enough to tackle the modern evolving cyber threat landscape. It is safe to say it’s suitable for the organization but not entirely a silver bullet against cyber threats. 

Technology is constantly changing, and so do cybercriminals. As a result, cybersecurity will still be a journey with no final destination. You should always keep improving your security posture by:

• Conducting regular security risk assessments
• Vulnerability scanning and run penetration testing to identify security gaps.
• Update security policies and processes with changing environments.
• Design new disaster recovery plans etc.

SOC 2 compliance is a step toward achieving a better security posture. But a failed SOC 2 audit may indicate you are highly exposed to modern security risks. Although it does not solve all your security problems, it gets you halfway there. 

5. Failure to Respond to the Auditor Request Promptly

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SOC 2 audit evaluates several functions of your organization. They include: 

• Your company’s ability to safeguard sensitive data
• Cybersecurity infrastructure of the organization
• Workplace security procedures and policies

These systems and security control policies can run through most departments. For a smooth auditing process, you should provide accurate information upon requests promptly and professionally. 

Not to forget the documentation on any protocol, policy, or systems you wish to audit. Documenting each piece of procedure and policy can be daunting, but that is what you have to do to be compliant. Your vital system must be supported by written documentation.

For better preparation, here are typical documentation and data requests for SOC 2 audit: 

• Infrastructure agreements and certifications, including cloud-based systems
• Written policies on your organization’s administrative and security policies
• Technical documentation of security procedures
• User access listings and authorization
• A copy of system configurations and settings
• Any previous security assessment or audit reports

Keeping all this vital information handy will help reduce delays and frustration during the final auditing process. 

Take Away

Failing a SOC 2 audit compliance means wasted resources, time, and effort. Not to mention that customers can go somewhere else if they find out that you failed the audit. Knowing common mistakes that can affect audit outcomes will help you avoid the pitfalls. 

These common mistakes will help you prepare better for the SOC 2 audit compliance exercise. However, it does not thoroughly cushion you from modern cyber threats. As technology advances, you’ll need to innovate and improve your security and processes constantly.