The “European Union General Data Protection Regulation” has put some significant new responsibilities and liabilities on the data controllers in the regards of their use of third-party processors. That means the data controllers will face increased requirements for understanding and contractually stipulating the policies and procedures of their processors according to the GDPR.
Well, two of three most commonly sought after privacy and security frameworks are ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC 2. But, do you know, what are these processes? And, what kinds of information and practices are reviewed with these processes? And, how can these processes be used for the procurement and vendor-management purposes? And, maybe more importantly, Who needs SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR?
Compliance Certifications And Regulations
SOC 2 Certification –
SOC 2 is an information security compliance standard that is used across the United States and it is a part of a Service Organization Control reporting platform known as the “American Institute of CPAs’ which is. However, the intent of this certification is to ensure the safety and privacy of organizations’ customer’s data.
SOC 2 compliance operated with five trust service principles, which are as follows:
- Security
- Availability
- Processing Integrity
- Confidentiality
- Privacy of customer data
Hence, it is a framework for safeguarding data. Well, Systems and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 was developed by the “American Institute of CPAs which is also known as AICPA. And, it is a voluntary standard of compliance for the service providers which has two types:
- Type I
- Type II
Well, generally a SOC 2 certification is issued by the external auditors.
Type I Reports
Type 1 reports vouch for the service’s systems while investigating about whether the chosen controls support the organization’s objectives and principles or not.
That means, these reports reflect the system performance at a point in time.
Type II Reports
In addition to the information provided in a Type I report, the Type II reports of SOC 2 compliance detail the operational efficiency of these controls.
And, these reports reflect system performance over a 6-12 month period and not just at a point in time.
And as we said earlier, the SOC 2 compliance hinges on five principles of security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy, so demonstrating this full compliance with all five TSCs will give your organization a competitive advantage and this is especially true for the industries that require higher compliance standards i.e. the financial sector.
ISO 27001
This is an internationally recognized standard which calls for ISMS (Information Security Management System) in an organization. However, such a system ensures that the information that has been processed within the organization can be administered appropriately.
ISO 27001 Standard lays out the specifications for implementing and managing ISMS (information security management system). And, it is the international standard for information security which is a more rigorous compliance process and addresses the people, the processes and the technology.
Hence, the ISO 27001 framework contains best practices that are chosen from a list of “114 Annex A Controls” that cover all the areas of an organization, the organizational issues, the human resources, the information technology, the legal issues, and the physical security. However, these controls are identified and implemented which is based on a risk assessment.
Well, based on this, an ISMS Security Standard ensures the confidentiality, the integrity, and the availability of the important information by addressing the security issues across the organization. However, to obtain an ISO 27001 certification, the organizations must choose an independent accredited certification body like SOCLY.io.
GDPR
GDPR is an EU legislation that provides the privacy protection guidelines for the organizations that are operating in the EU. However, the GDPR applies to all kinds of businesses and organizations within the EU countries and especially to those companies that collect and process some sort of personal data from their customers.
However, this law is also applicable to the companies that are outside the EU and that offer the products and services to EU-based customers. That means, almost all the international-scale businesses as well as the website owners are required to comply with this GDPR regulation. And, if they fail to comply with the GDPR then it may result in a huge fine.
So from the monetary perspective alone, it becomes very clear that the GDPR compliance is an important aspect that you should consider when running an international business or a website. Well, making your website GDPR compliant should also be your top priority because in today’s time customers value their data privacy more than ever.
Did you know, around 80% of website users said that they would stop interacting with a website or a brand the site owner uses their data without their knowledge.
How Can SOCLY.io Help You With These Compliances?
Information security and privacy is the inherent part of our values at SOCLY.io. And, to optimize our Information security compliance, we have automated our compliance processes and a tried and tested framework is also in place to identify and mitigate some potential slippages in real-time.
However, these compliances fortify our commitment to “Information Security and Data Privacy” while assuring our customers, our partners, and our vendors that we adhere to secure the information security practices across the board.
In fact, this also means that we take the proactive measures for protecting any data that is residing with us and you as our customers can just sit back and relax because your data is in safe hands with SOCLY.io.