SOC reports

What is a SOC report?‍

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A service organization controls (SOC) report is a way to verify that an organization is following specific best practices related to protecting their clients’ data before you outsource a business function to that organization.

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These best practices are related to finances, security, processing integrity, privacy, and availability. The reports, which are created and validated by third-party auditors, are built to provide independent assurance and to help potential customers/partners understand any potential risks involved in working with the organization that was evaluated.

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You may decide to pursue a SOC report because you’re working to sign on a client who values security, or your own company works with sensitive data and you want to be proactive in setting up security controls.

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Depending on the information needed and the types of organizations involved, there are several versions of SOC reports.

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SOC 1, SOC 2 & SOC 3

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You may also hear “SOC” referring to a security operations center. That’s a separate definition and meaning that doesn’t impact your compliance obligations.