Has a software company that you’ve encountered ever told you they are SOC 2 Certified? The term probably just went in one ear and came out the other. “SOC 2 Certified?” you thought, “I have no idea what that is and why I should care.” But the truth is, you should care.
What an SOC 2 Certification Is
First, let’s talk about what SOC 2 certification is. SOC stands for Service Organization Control. It’s an information security framework designed to measure an organization’s security controls to protect sensitive information. A licensed CPA firm audits the organization to ensure the controls are in place and working appropriately. There are two different SOC reports. The SOC 1 is for organizations whose processes impact financial information for their customers and the SOC 2 for organizations whose processes do not impact their customer’s financial information (which is the category most software companies fall). The SOC 2 certification gives software companies a way to prove that they have good controls in place for protecting and securing and data.
Why You Should Care if a Company Is SOC 2 Certified
But why is SOC 2 certification that big of a deal? For starters, a software company that doesn’t safeguard the data you’ve entrusted to it very well can leave your business vulnerable to data theft, extortion, and malware. If a company has SOC 2 certification, you can rest easier. A company that has become SOC 2 certified has been through a rigorous process in which a third-party evaluated their data management based on any combination of the five “trust service criteria” of security (the common criteria), availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. And, in order to get the certification, they needed to put in place well-defined policies, procedures, and practices for handling data. In other words, software companies who have been SOC 2 certified have been put through the ringer and have proven their security practices.
So, SOC 2 is no fleeting certification. If you hear that your software provider is SOC 2 certified, that’s a really good thing. In fact, if they’re SOC 2 certified, you’re going to be able to do your job with more peace of mind.
Only Partner with SOC 2 Compliant Companies
The long and short of it is that if you want to keep your business running smooth, only partner with software companies that are SOC 2 certified.
In case you were wondering, Verifent is SOC 2 certified. So, when using Verifent to streamline verification requests, you can rest assured that your data is in good hands. Don’t settle for any less.