
Vanta’s guide to SOC reporting
If you’ve done research on SOC reports, you’ve probably seen that there are three types of SOC reports:
- SOC 1
- SOC 2
- SOC 3
SOC 1
A SOC 1 evaluates an organization’s financial controls – the practices and procedures in place to ensure financial information is accurate. These reports are issued after an audit and can only be shared with a non-disclosure agreement.
Companies will often send these reports to their prospects and customers to demonstrate their commitment to financial accuracy.
It is most useful for companies that process financial transactions:
- Payroll processors
- Medical claims processors
- Loan servicing companies
- Software as a Service (SaaS) companies that process or store financial data about their users’ businesses
SOC 2
A SOC 2 evaluates an organization’s technical oversight and policies. These reports are issued after an audit and can only be shared with a non-disclosure agreement.
Companies will often send these reports to their prospects and customers to demonstrate their commitment to data security and privacy.
It is most useful for technology companies that store data from their users:
- Software as a Service (SaaS) service providers
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) service providers
You can learn more about SOC 2 at Vanta's SOC 2 Guide.
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SOC 3
A SOC 3 verifies the service organization underwent a SOC 1, SOC 2, or both. It’s a high-level overview of the audit and can be published without restriction. Earlier-stage companies tend to forgo SOC 3 reports and instead share their SOC 1 or SOC 2 under NDA.
How Vanta helps companies achieve and maintain SOC compliance
Vanta simplifies the SOC burden for companies by:
- Creating controls custom to your company that conform to AICPA guidance
- Verifying your company’s infrastructure, data, organizational, and physical security with integrations into your tools
- Providing tools and guidance to fix weak points
- Working with auditors to guide companies through SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits
SOC audits that assess and validate compliance usually happen annually, but SOC compliance is not a one-time event – it’s a continuous and substantial effort to assess, remediate, and maintain security. A company’s security and compliance requirements evolve as the business does, which means that audits differ from year to year for the same company; there is no “set it and forget it” in the security and compliance space. Further, relying on the auditors to spot problems leaves customer data less secure and your business vulnerable to a questionable (“qualified”) SOC report.
Instead, continuous security monitoring and alerting, tied to your company’s compliance controls, is an effective and efficient way to protect data and maintain compliance. It leaves the tedious work of monitoring controls to software and frees up your team to respond to deviations – every single day of the year.

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PCI Compliance Selection Guide
Determine Your PCI Compliance Level
If your organization processes, stores, or transmits cardholder data, you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a global mandate created by major credit card companies. Compliance is mandatory for any business that accepts credit card payments.
When establishing strategies for implementing and maintaining PCI compliance, your organization needs to understand what constitutes a Merchant or Service Provider, and whether a Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) or Report on Compliance (ROC) is most applicable to your business.
Answer a few short questions and we’ll help identify your compliance level.
Does your business offer services to customers who are interested in your level of PCI compliance?
Identify your PCI SAQ or ROC level
The PCI Security Standards Council has established the below criteria for Merchant and Service Provider validation. Use these descriptions to help determine the SAQ or ROC that best applies to your organization.
Good news! Vanta supports all of the following compliance levels:
A SAQ A is required for Merchants that do not require the physical presence of a credit card (like an eCommerce, mail, or telephone purchase). This means that the Merchant’s business has fully outsourced all cardholder data processing to PCI DSS compliant third party Service Providers, with no electronic storage, processing, or transmission of any cardholder data on the Merchant’s system or premises.
Get PCI DSS certified
A SAQ A-EP is similar to a SAQ A, but is a requirement for Merchants that don't receive cardholder data, but control how cardholder data is redirected to a PCI DSS validated third-party payment processor.
Learn more about eCommerce PCI
A SAQ D includes over 200 requirements and covers the entirety of PCI DSS compliance. If you are a Service Provider, a SAQ D is the only SAQ you’re eligible to complete.
Use our PCI checklist
A Report on Compliance (ROC) is an annual assessment that determines your organization’s ability to protect cardholder data. If you’re a Merchant that processes over six million transactions annually or a Service Provider that processes more than 300,000 transactions annually, your organization is responsible for both a ROC and an Attestation of Compliance (AOC).
Automate your ROC and AOC
Download this checklist for easy reference
Questions?
Learn more about how Vanta can help. You can also find information on PCI compliance levels at the PCI Security Standards Council website or by contacting your payment processing partner.

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