Security certifications are an ever-present reality of maintaining up to date and robust security systems. The increase in implementation of ISO27001:2022 is evidence of this. Lately however SOC2 (Service Organisation Control) has also been gaining in popularity, especially in the Australian market. You may be wondering – what are the differences between SOC2 and ISO27001, and which one is best?
To quickly help you decide which security control might be more suitable for you, consider the following:
- Are you a service organisation? SOC2 is primarily for service organisations dealing with customer data.
- Do you work with North American organisations? SOC2 is very popular in North America, whereas in Europe ISO27001 is more common.
- Do you need a formal certificate? While SOC2 provides a detailed report and recommendations, it does not result in formal certification.
Read on for a more detailed comparison of the differences between ISO27001 and SOC2.
A SOC2 audit is comprised of 5 trust services criteria. SOC2 provides flexibility in that the company can choose which services to comply with depending on their needs. Those criteria are:
- Security
- Availability
- Confidentiality
- Processing Integrity
- Privacy
This can be achieved through either a type 1 or type 2 report. Type1 is a snapshot of your controls as of a certain date. Type2 is a review over a period, for example 12 months.
SOC2 is primarily for service organisations and provides a detailed report to be shared with customers and stakeholders. It poses greater flexibility, (only the security criteria is mandatory) and specificity for its uses; however as previously mentioned, it results in no official certification.
ISO27001 Alternatively, an ISO27001 certification is suitable for any industry and has 93 different controls in 4 different groups that must be implemented, or if not – justified as to why they’re not applicable through a statement of applicability (SOA). It focuses on improvement to an Information Security Management System (ISMS), and results in an official certification to be shared with stakeholders. An ISO27001 audit report is typically a more formal and comprehensive process.
This brief overview describes some of the major differences between the two certifications.
For advice regarding your business, ICS has extensive knowledge and a team dedicated to the implementation of both SOC2 and ISO27001 security audits – get in touch today to begin your certification process.