Why does SOC2 matter and how does Unosecur achieve the certification?

At Unosecur, we take data privacy and security seriously so we acquired SOC 2 compliance with the assistance of Vanta, a powerful compliance automation platform. We used Vanta's automated flows and continuous monitoring capacities to make the whole SOC 2 compliance process simpler. We streamlined the entire SOC2 compliance process using Vanta which allowed us to focus on safeguarding the customer data while meeting the industry security standards.

This blog will check in detail on SOC 2, traditional steps for compliance, and UnoSecur's work with Vanta to design an easier and quicker process.

What is SOC2 Compliance?

SOC2 stands for Service Organization Control 2 and is a cybersecurity framework that contains guidelines on how organizations should protect customer data from unauthorized access, security incidents, and other vulnerabilities. The SOC2 is a report on controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy,” according to the AICPA. This can be provided to the third party to demonstrate compliance which was generated after the audit by a third-party auditor (CPA) as evidence that the organization follows the guidelines in the framework which allowed the organization to attain the SOC2 report.

The Need for SOC2 at Unosecur

As we are a cloud security solution provider, at Unosecur we always prioritize the privacy and security of the organization and also of customer organizations. With the increasing number of customers trusting Unosecur with their sensitive data, achieving SOC2 compliance became a strategic necessity which not only shows the company’s commitment to security standards but also provides us a competitive advantage, which assures clients that their data is in safe hands.

For Unosecur, SOC2 compliance is not just a checkbox process, but for us, it was aligning our process with industry best practices for strengthening security and building trust with our customers.

Unosecur’s Journey to SOC2 Compliance

Achieving the SOC2 was a complex and multi-step process that required a well-planned strategy and support from all the stakeholders, and departments across the organization; it takes 6-12 months to achieve the compliance certification in the traditional approach. But here at Unosecur, we leveraged Vanta, a compliance automation tool that helped us automate the collection of evidence and overall compliance management which allowed us to achieve SOC2 compliance in a record time which is 2-3 months.

Here is the strategic planning of the path to achieving SOC2 compliance:

1. Planning and Initial Gap Analysis

We started our SOC2 compliance journey by meeting with all the stakeholders to give them the information we had to collect about the organization which in turn, helped us to get the correct idea of workplace conditions and mechanisms. Once we finished the task of obtaining all the necessary data and information, we initiated the integration of all the necessary tools and softwares to Vanta, a compliance automation platform that in turn, helped us in automating the compliance process. Then Vanta helped us in the gap analysis, which detected in the controls and processes that we were non-compliant with the SOC2 standards. We developed the report utilizing the gap analysis, this report underlined the procedures, controls, and processes that need to be implemented.

2. Controls, process, and procedures Implementations

After the Gap Analysis report, we conducted an internal discussion with all the stakeholders regarding reviewing the gap areas. We created a plan of action that integrated the implementation of the necessary security procedures, controls, and processes which later led to our fulfillment of all non-compliance areas in a manner corresponding to the organizational standards. We, therefore implemented all the procedures, controls, and processes in place collaboratively with the full cooperation of all stakeholders and departments.

3. Vendor and Risk Assessments

While conducting our SOC 2 compliance, we appropriately evaluated vendors to ensure that all third-party service providers employed the necessary security standards, as this may have an impact on our data. We researched the policies and controls of each vendor in question, thereby making sure they align with the requirements of SOC 2 to minimize risks in our supply chain. At the same time, risk assessments were done at all organizational levels to identify and appraise risks to our data, systems, and processes. This assisted us in acting on risk prioritization and taking further essential steps towards strengthening security.

4. Automated Evidence Collection

The most time-consuming part when achieving SOC 2 compliance has been gathering evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of the security controls that are in place. Vanta reduced this process for us significantly. Applying its automation, Vanta gathered 90% of the evidence-a critical part of security, including access logs, security configurations, and audit trails-preparation for both our internal and external audits.

5. Internal Audit

With every control and proof well implanted, we performed our internal audit to test how effective our new processes were. The internal audit gave us a good opportunity to raise any last-minute issues that required fixing before the outside audit. We corrected such issues where needed, thus preparing us for the next phase.

6. External Audit

We then engaged an independent, third-party auditor to conduct our SOC 2 external audit after we performed our internal audit. We executed our external auditing in two phases: controls, procedures, and process review, and observation of our control environment over time. The preparation that we had undertaken prior to the audit, combined with Vanta's automated collection of evidence, made the external audit relatively smooth and efficient.

7. Continuous Monitoring (After Certification)

Not a one-time win, but rather something that has to be kept under constant review, achieving and maintaining SOC 2 compliance requires continuous monitoring. After we procured the SOC 2 report, we implemented ongoing monitoring processes with the help of Vanta and they are continuously tracking our systems for compliance with SOC 2 standards helps us stay proactive to ensure we maintain a very robust security posture and are always positioned so we do not get caught by surprise when our next audit arrives.

How Unosecur’s SOC2 compliance benefits the customers?

• Enhanced Data Protection: We use advanced security measures to keep your sensitive data safe from breaches and unauthorized access. Your information is in good hands with us.
• Proactive Risk Management: We're always on the lookout for potential security risks, addressing them before they can affect you. This means we’re ahead of any issues that might arise.
• Strict Access Controls: Only authorized individuals can access your data, thanks to our strict access controls. This helps us prevent any internal security risks and keeps your information secure.
• Improved Incident Response: If a security issue does arise, our well-defined incident response plan ensures we can quickly identify and resolve the problem, minimizing any impact on you.
• Data Encryption: We perform the encryption of your data both at rest and in transit using the industry standard encryption practices that play a major role in keeping your data secure and do not allow unauthorized access to it.
• Ongoing Security Monitoring: We don’t only set up security measures and leave them out without any control. We are always reviewing and evaluating our practices to see that they are updated and most efficient.  

Conclusion

Achieving SOC 2 compliance has been a significant milestone for Unosecur which reflects our commitment to security and privacy. With the use of  Vanta’s compliance automation, we streamlined our compliance process, which helped us significantly reduce the time and effort required to achieve compliance while ensuring that we meet the highest industry standards. This milestone not only demonstrates our dedication to protecting data security and privacy but also enhances our ability to serve you with confidence. As we move forward, our continuous monitoring and compliance to SOC 2 standards will ensure that we maintain a robust security posture, providing you with the peace of mind that your data is in safe hands and we remain committed to delivering exceptional security and service.

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