Guest Article - SOC2 Compliance and Cloud-converted

1. SOC2 Compliance and Cloud: What should you know? Introduction In a Cloud-based environment, data security and privacy are increasingly challenging. Ever since the evolution of cloud computing, organizations are concerned about the security of the data moved to the cloud. More so when it is in a third-party’s cloud data center.Compliance with various Data security and privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA makes it more complex and challenging.This is mainly because ensuring the data stored with the third-party is secure and not mishandled or accessed by unauthorized users is hard to assume. However, a SOC2 Report providing an independent third-party assurance helps address these concerns. In today’s article, we will be covering how SOC2 Compliance plays a major role in helping Cloud based organizations secure their data. But before we move on to understanding the significance of SOC2 Attestation let us first learn about the growing importance of Cloud computing- Growing Importance of Cloud computing across different industries Cloud computing is the most popular and highly disruptive technology innovation in the 21st century.It is perhaps the fastest technology being adopted in the mainstream industries formost businesses.Moreover, the adoption of technology is fueled by the demand and high volume consumption of internet use on smartphones and mobile devices. Cloud computing plays a significant role in today’s digital landscape with a growing number of organizations adopting operational efficiency in their businesses. The technology is indeed a marvel that holds huge significance in almost every field or industry vertical you can think of.Cloud computing is a technology that addresses most of the business problems that organizations encounter today.This mainly includes streamlining operations and resources for better information management and work efficiency. In this context Cloud technology has a plethora of benefits to offer businesses online. However, with benefits there comes huge security challenges for organizations. Cloud Security Challenges Faced by Cloud Service Providers (CSP) – Misconfiguration and Inadequate Change control –Misconfiguration and inadequate change control are some of the major challenges encountered in Cloud technology. Poor configuration and change management controls can potentially affect the functionality of the asset and even be a cause of data breach. Moreover, the complex nature of cloud environments makes it even more challenging when changes are applied, thus affecting the overall functionality and operation of assets stored on the cloud. Lack of Cloud Security- Lack of cloud security architecture and strategy can greatly impactthe security of data storage on the cloud. It has the potential of creating a significant amount of business risk for organizations causing a data breach. Migrating the existing on-premises applications to cloud infrastructure without adapting to the new security environment could hamper the entire business operations. Insufficient Identity, credentials, and access points-Another major risk or challenge encountered by the organization is insufficient identity, credential, or key management. This could potentiallyenable unauthorized access to data and have a catastrophic implication on organizations.

2. Insecure Interface and API’s -Insecure interfaces and APIs that are poorly configured allows an attacker to misuse applications or access data. More than often public-facing cloud systems encounter attacks wherein the attacker gets access to the key and then uses them to allow the malware to evade host-based security. Further, the attacker can cause denial-of-service and rack up the severity of the attack causing a data breach. Threat of Data Breach-Businesses have very little control over the security of their data on a third-party Cloud. So, there is always a threat of data breach lurking on businesses. Consequently, businesses find it challenging to manage their data and ensure their safety. In the cloud, be it in the private, public, or hybrid service model, most of the controls are relinquished to the third-party. So, selecting the right vendor, with strong security records becomes essential for businesses. Compliance Complexity-In most industries like Healthcare and Finance have stringent compliance regulations pertaining to the use and storage of private data. Whilst using a public or private cloud offerings adds to the complexity of achieving compliance. Most businesses attempt to gain compliance using a cloud vendor service who claim to be compliant.However, simply relying on a vendor’s statement of compliance as confirmation that all legislative requirements are met can be risky, if they are found non-compliant. The huge risk of businesses facing non-compliance charges with very little control over the security of the data makes things more complicated. Insider Threat -Insider threat is another major issue faced by businesses as they have no direct control over it. An insider with authorized access to cloud resources may maliciously or inadvertently damage systems or expose sensitive data to disrupt operations. Such threats are grave issues for they cannot be easily identified and have huge implications on business. Account Hijacking-With stolen credentials or via a phishing attack, hackers can penetrate systems and get access to sensitive data if systems are not well secured. This is a very common way and means by which incidents of data breach occur. Having learned about the challenges faced by Cloud Service Provider let us move on to understanding how a SOC2 Attestation can help address these challenges. Significance of SOC2 Compliance for Cloud Service Providers SOC2 Attestation is standards that offer a reliable benchmark for security and compliance evaluation. Cloud Service Providers and Third-party Vendors can be evaluated based on their SOC2 Reports. Created by the AICPA, the Service Organization Control 2 (SOC2) is a compliance standard specifically designed for any service provider that stores data in the Cloud. It is a standard that requires cloud providers to meet minimum technical and procedural standards for managing and securing customer data. Moreover, these standards are assessed and verified by independent external auditors. SOC 2 Attestation is critical for Cloud providers because it verifies their claims of Compliance that they pitch to your organization. The SOC2 reports provide transparency on the Cloud Service Provider’s efforts of security and compliance capabilities. Further, it helps address the challenges of uncertainty about securely migrating data, applications, and systems to the cloud. Benefits of SOC2 Compliance for Cloud Vendors & Businesses – SOC 2 Attestation is a rigorous process for it is the third-party CPA firm that assesses concerns of Security, Availability, Process integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy of data in the vendor’s datacenter.The assessment covers evaluating the Infrastructure, IT system controls, security policies, and frameworks to verify the vendor’s setup and determines the effectiveness of their

3. services.Given below are some of the benefits of SOC2 Compliance for Cloud-Vendors & Businesses that are briefly listed below– •Verifies implementation of Security Controls- the Attestation verifies that the cloud provider effectively implements and practices relevant security controls, policies, and frameworks to secure data. •Promotes Transparency– SOC2 Reports are essential for both businesses and their cloud vendors since the assessment report promotes transparency of practices and implementation of security controls. •Validation of AICPA’s 5 TSC- A SOC 2 report provides validation based on the 5 critical Trust Service Criteria’s pertaining to the Security, Availability, Process Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy of business-critical data stored on the Cloud. •Actionable insight- SOC2 Reports provides deep insight into the current systems and processes that affect business operations. The compliance requires you to take actionable steps against threats and ensure your environment is secure. •Compliance framework- SOC2 Standard works a guide for Cloud Service Providers to lay security controls, policies, and frameworks for securing data and achieving compliance. •Foundation for other Compliance standards- SOC2 Attestation lays the groundwork for achieving other compliance frameworks related to data protection and security. This would include achieving regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, PCI, or GDPR to name a few. Final thought- SOC2 compliance is an on-going process for any business. This is mainly because maintaining the security of data across the cloud requires constant evaluation of systems and security controls. SOC2 Compliance is specifically designed to address data security challenges OF Cloud Service Providers. So, depending on the nature of your business, SOC2 Attestation may be essential to you and your vendor to remain compliant. By conducting regular audits, actively monitoring systems, and enabling real-time alerts will help businesses protect sensitive data and achieve Compliance. Original Published on: CISO MAG Written By: VISTA InfoSec