At UnderDefense, we have correlated each general SOC2 audit recommendation with our own practice and the experience of our customers. Finally, we have prepared a checklist for you that you can use as a tool to easily conduct an IT security audit in your organization. We’ve kept it simple and straightforward. Even if you don’t have deep IT knowledge, you will be able to take certain actions, and we will help you to perform a soc 2 audit cost profitably.
Is it worth it? This is a rhetorical question. For example, CSIS and McAfee estimated that global losses caused by hackers in 2014 amounted to about $600 billion. In 2020, the losses were estimated at almost $1 trillion! These costs, of course, are not just the cost of ransoms paid or the cost of lost data. If you have a serious cybersecurity incident, you will spend many man-hours talking to your team and getting back to normal.
Your production or sale of services may be halted. You may lose significant benefits in the form of potential orders. Key people in the company will be engaged in crisis management of the entire situation. That is why we will analyze the importance of SOC audits.
A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a special security center that relies on three main things: the people working there, the technology they use, and the ways they do things.
It allows for constant watching, identifying and studying potential dangers to the security of computer systems and infrastructure. The SOC quickly handles problems that could harm the organization’s operations.
Content Summary
Scope of SOC services
Monitoring and handling of incidents
- collection, analysis, and correlation of events that occur in the client’s networks and systems
- collected data after automatic verification in the systems is then checked by analysts
- detection of security events or incidents
- assessing the impact of an IT security incident on client systems
- checking for false alarms (false positives)
- undertaking incident handling in accordance with procedures (e.g., incident escalation)
- incident response (development of an incident monitoring and handling service)
- remote response to a detected cyber incident
- contact the security team on the client side
- advising on actions to mitigate the negative effects of the incident
- collection of missing information in case of more advanced attacks
- in-depth analysis, e.g. of malware samples found, or communication with botnets or command and control (C&C) networks
- support in the area of post-intrusion analysis (forensics)
Prevention
- proactive control to prevent multiple ICT security incidents
- penetration testing and security reconnaissance
- security audits and reviews
- vulnerability discovery and assessment
- support for ensuring compliance with legal or corporate information security requirements
- consulting on the organization of in-house security teams (processes, technologies, human resources)
What is a SOC 2 report?
A SOC 2 report allows service organizations to receive and share a report with stakeholders to describe, in general terms, IT controls that are secure on site. There are two types of SOC 2 reports:
- SOC 2 Type 1: Describes the vendor’s systems and tells whether the vendor’s design is adequate to meet trust principles.
- SOC 2 Type 2: Provides details of the operational effectiveness of the supplier’s systems.
SOC 2 varies from organization to organization in terms of information security frameworks and standards, as there are no defined requirements. The AICPA provides criteria that a service organization chooses to demonstrate the controls it has in place to secure the services it offers.
What is the purpose of SOC 2?
SOC 2 compliance means that a company is really good at keeping its information safe and secure. Following the rules and making sure to do everything that is required helps organizations make sure that their important information is safe.
By complying with SOC 2, you will receive:
- The organization is getting better at protecting its data from cyber attacks and other security problems.
- A competitive advantage means that customers prefer to work with service providers who have strong measures in place to keep their data secure, especially for cloud and IT services.
- Prevents people from using data and resources controlled by the organization without permission. Security policies are rules that companies make to control who can look at and use data. Bad individuals are prevented from causing harm to the data through improper use, unauthorized sharing, unauthorized alteration, or unauthorized deletion due to these rules.
How do you make sure you follow the rules of SOC 2?
SOC 2 compliance refers to a collection of guidelines made by the AICPA. The standard describes five important things for trust services: keeping information safe, being dependable, keeping information private, keeping things secret, and always being available.
SOC compliance is made to fit the needs of each company. The way a company works decides the rules its systems should follow to gain trust. It covers all services, including protection against DDoS attacks, load balancing, attack analysis, web application security, and more.
In plain words, SOC 2 compliance is not a list of tools, processes, or controls. It is about meeting specific criteria that are important for keeping information secure. This process involves an audit, so you may get soc 2 audit cost by contacting our team. It lets each group use the most effective ways to do things and achieve their objectives.
Cybersecurity by UnderDefense
We always start our work by defining the nature of the audit and determining the scope of work. The audit is done by experienced auditors who evaluate how businesses work and control things. We think it’s really important to always talk to the client and not waste their time. Also, you will individually find out how much soc 2 audit cost, which is important with an enlightened approach. During the audit, we evaluate the system description, the adequacy of the control system, and (if required by the standard) the actual operation of the internal control system.
The examination finished with a summary. We show an early version to the client and talk about it. We carefully study all the comments given by the client. The last report has all the right comments and proves that the service is good. The possibility of its publication follows from the requirements of the standards and is also the customer’s decision.
Below is a checklist of basic SOC 2 compliance we perform:
- Access Control
- System operations
- Risk mitigation
- Change management
The UnderDefense SOC team is divided into three lines of support:
1st line
Specializes in providing good customer service, monitoring the security of ICT systems, selecting and prioritizing incidents (triage).
2nd line
Responsible for the incident management area, including incident handling coordination and closing problem tickets.
3rd line
A team of experts who are really good at keeping things safe. They know a lot about complicated dangers, how the bad guys attack, and how to make security systems work at their best.
Conclusion
The cyber security of small and medium-sized businesses is increasingly at risk, so we have put together tips and strategies that, if implemented, can significantly increase a company’s cyber security.
The combination of implementing new processes under the guidance of our team, regular training and software updates, and improving your entire infrastructure to protect against the latest threats will take effort, but the resulting holistic strategy can significantly improve the security of your business.
