Companies often align their controls with specific processes or frameworks such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). When this occurs and the company receives a SOC 2 report, the service auditor should consider if: The process or framework used is required […]
Generally, SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports include a description of complementary subservice organization controls (CSOCs) and complementary user entity controls (CUECs), which are defined as follows in the AICPA SOC 2 Audit Guide: CSOCs Controls that service organization management assumed, in the design of the service organization’s system, would be implemented […]
The AICPA defines a scope limitation as “An inability to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence.” In a SOC 1 or SOC 2 examination, a scope limitation may occur for the following reasons: Circumstances beyond the control of management. For example, documents that the service auditor considers necessary to inspect were in the […]
Multiple service offerings Most Type 2 SOC reports include a single service offering that was operational during the entire period covered by the report. In some instances, however, a Type 2 SOC report may include multiple service offerings. For these SOC reports, it is necessary that each of the services be […]
In a SOC 2 report that includes the confidentiality Trust Services Category, some companies and their auditors struggle with the following point of focus under the change management criteria CC8.1: “Protects Confidential Information – The entity protects confidential information during system design, development, testing, implementation and change processes to support the […]
In a SOC 1 or SOC 2 report, organizations may wish to communicate to report users information that is beyond the scope of the engagement. Such information may be prepared by the service organization’s management or by another party. For example, an organization may want to include other information, such as […]
One of the most common exceptions in SOC 2 reports involves the failure to remediate critical and high vulnerabilities in a timely manner. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the importance of vulnerability management and why it is critical to addressing Common Criteria (CC) 7.1 in a SOC 2 […]
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was introduced in 2019 and has already had a direct impact on 401(k) and employee benefit plans. SECURE Act Version 2.0 (the Act) builds on the original legislation and became effective for 401(k) and employee benefit plans on January 1, 2023. […]
An effective patch management process is a critical component of cybersecurity strategy and is also essential to a successful SOC 2 audit. Patching is relevant to several of the Trust Services Criteria (TSC) in a SOC 2 report, but is considered most applicable to the change management requirements under CC8.1. When […]
A service organization may wish to provide prospective customers (user entities) with information regarding the effectiveness of controls over its system. However, the prospective customers may not have signed a nondisclosure agreement required by the service organization to access the system description in the SOC 2 report. In other situations, prospective […]