Insights on SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria and Security Controls

SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria provide a framework for evaluating how organizations manage information and technology systems. Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, SOC 2 focuses on controls related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. These criteria help organizations assess whether their systems and processes are designed to address relevant risks. Security controls can include access management, authentication, monitoring, incident response, data protection, and change management. Understanding the relationship between SOC 2 criteria and internal controls can help organizations organize their technology practices.

Understanding SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria

The Trust Services Criteria establish principles that organizations can use to evaluate controls over systems and information. The criteria are designed to be adaptable because organizations have different technologies, business processes, and risk environments.

The five Trust Services Criteria include:

  • Security: Addresses protection of information and systems against unauthorized access, disclosure, damage, or other threats.
  • Availability: Considers whether systems are available for operation and use as committed or agreed.
  • Processing Integrity: Examines whether system processing is complete, valid, accurate, timely, and authorized.
  • Confidentiality: Focuses on protecting information designated as confidential from unauthorized access or disclosure.
  • Privacy: Addresses the collection, use, retention, disclosure, and disposal of personal information.

Security is generally relevant to every SOC 2 examination, while the other criteria are selected according to the services and risks being evaluated.

Common Security Controls in SOC 2

Security controls are the policies, procedures, and technical measures organizations use to address identified risks. During a SOC 2 examination, controls are evaluated in relation to the applicable criteria and the defined system boundaries.

Examples of controls may include:

  • Access controls: Organizations establish processes for granting, reviewing, modifying, and removing user access.
  • Authentication: Password policies, multifactor authentication, and other identity controls can help restrict unauthorized system access.
  • Monitoring: System activity and security events may be monitored to identify unusual activity or potential incidents.
  • Change management: Organizations can require changes to applications, infrastructure, and configurations to be authorized, tested, and documented.
  • Incident response: Documented procedures can establish how security incidents are identified, investigated, addressed, and communicated.
  • Risk management: Periodic risk assessments can help identify threats and determine appropriate control activities.

How SOC 2 Controls Are Evaluated

A SOC 2 examination considers whether relevant controls are suitably designed and, depending on the examination type, whether they operated effectively during a specified period. The scope is established around the organization's system, services, processes, and applicable Trust Services Criteria.

A SOC 2 Type I report generally addresses the suitability of the design of controls at a specified date. A SOC 2 Type II report also examines the operating effectiveness of controls over a specified period. The distinction is important because the two report types provide different types of information about an organization's control environment.

Organizations typically maintain evidence supporting their controls, such as access reviews, monitoring records, policy documentation, incident records, and change approvals. The specific evidence depends on the controls and examination scope.

SOC 2 therefore connects governance, technology, and operational processes through documented controls and evidence. Understanding the applicable Trust Services Criteria can help organizations identify relevant risks and establish processes for protecting systems and information. The framework does not prescribe one identical set of controls for every organization; controls should correspond to the organization's circumstances and applicable criteria.

Related Articles