After tons of hard work, your company has successfully completed a SOC 2 audit and received a well-deserved SOC 2 report! Congratulations! Receiving your SOC 2 attestation is no easy feat, and it’s a significant milestone that demonstrates your company’s commitment to security and trust assurance.
If you’re not sure what to do next, no worries – the hard part is done. However, to fully optimize your SOC 2 report, there are still some steps you should take, so let’s get into it!
Show off your SOC 2 compliance
It’s time you debut all of your hard work!
The first step is to get the official SOC 2 logo from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Once you receive it, do not alter it in any way except for the size. Be sure to hyperlink it to this section of the AICPA as well.
Then, be sure to showcase your logo in a few different places, like:
- On your website
- In a blog / press release
- On your social media
- In marketing materials, report packages, or engagement proposals
- In presentation slide decks / pitch decks
- Via a trust portal – a live page on your website that displays your security posture – which looks like this
Whether you received assistance from a consultant or a compliance automation platform during your SOC 2 journey, it’s likely that they will want to join you in celebrating your achievement. If they haven’t already, reach out to the people you worked closely with and express your interest in sharing your SOC 2 milestone.
Everyone does it differently, but we’ve seen cross collaboration take shape in many different forms. Check out how our own customers did it → on blogs / press releases, testimonials, and social media posts.
Securely Share your SOC 2 Report
Sharing your SOC 2 report is very different from showing off your SOC 2 compliance. Your SOC 2 report can be a powerful way to build trust with prospects, customers, and other stakeholders.
Prospects
While SOC 2 reports are typically confidential, some prospective parties may request to see yours. This is normal, and is usually asked because they need assurance that their data will be handled securely. To be on the safer side, many organizations have prospects sign an NDA before sharing. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how your company handles it.
If you’re searching for a secure method to share sensitive documents, our TrustShare does just that (and a whole lot more). You’ll be able to customize access to confidential docs and even embed NDA signatures directly into the workflow.
Your Organization
You should also carefully consider who you share the report with at your own company. It’s important to limit internal access to the report, and you should provide it only to employees who need it to perform their job functions.
Partners may also require evidence of your compliance with regulations and standards.
Customers
It’s a good idea to share the news with your existing customers as well, so they can see your dedication towards their security and data protection. This doesn’t have to be anything complicated, but we give guidance on how you can in the next section.
Ways to maintain your SOC 2 compliance
After putting in all that significant time and effort to receive your SOC 2 street cred, it’s important to celebrate it but also understand that it isn’t a one-time achievement. It will require ongoing dedication to maintaining the good compliance habits you’ve developed throughout your journey.
Here are a few tips to keep your compliance momentum going:
- Share the good news about earning your SOC 2 report with your entire company by making a formal announcement or highlighting it during a meeting. Acknowledge your team’s hard work and dedication, and show your appreciation for their efforts.
- Foster a culture of compliance within your organization by making it easy to adhere to cybersecurity controls. Integrations with tools like Slack or JIRA let your colleagues know what actions they need to take, without relying on ad-hoc emails from an overworked compliance manager. Make sure to regularly communicate the importance of passing controls; they’re designed to protect customer data and your entire company’s revenues.
- Regularly monitor your controls to ensure they’re operating as intended. Consider using a tool like TrustCloud’s continuous compliance automation solution, TrustOps, to help you with this process. Don’t view this as just a SOC 2 requirement, but rather as a good practice to help you identify potential issues early on.
- Explore opportunities to automate, update, or streamline your controls wherever possible. This can help you maintain compliance more efficiently and effectively.
- Seek guidance from your auditors on areas where you can improve your security practices and strive to mature your overall approach to cybersecurity. Auditors have valuable expertise and insights that can help you move in the right direction.
- Keep your auditors informed of any major changes to your network, control processes, or scope, such as adding new services or products. This will help ensure that your SOC 2 report remains accurate and up-to-date.
- Consider whether it makes sense to add another Trust Service Criteria (TSC) to your SOC 2 report. This could potentially lead to larger sales and a stronger competitive advantage. However, be sure to weigh the costs and benefits before making any decisions.
More resources around SOC 2
Compliance isn’t just about meeting regulatory requirements, but it also ensures the protection of sensitive data, which you accomplished. So keep up the good work, and good luck on your next audit!
Here are some additional resources that can help make your next round even better:
How to SOC 2: everything you need to know to pass the SOC 2 audit – just in case you needed a refresher
How you can save time during a SOC 2 audit – because time is money, and why wouldn’t you if you could?
A step-by-step guide on creating a risk register – you’ll need one of these every time you pursue SOC 2, and we provide a free template to make it easier for you.
