[Maya Chen]

A vendor may present a SOC 2 report as complete security approval. What should a buyer verify?

[Ethan Cole]

Accepted answer

Treat the report as scoped evidence, not a universal certification. Check the report type and period, the systems and services included, the trust service criteria, the auditor’s opinion, exceptions, complementary user controls, subservice organizations, and whether the buyer’s planned use is covered. Ask for current bridge evidence when the period is old. NIST SP 800-161 Rev. 1 supports risk-based assessment of supplier and service evidence.

[Priya Shah]

Community reply

Would you accept a report that excludes one major subservice organization from the scope of the audit?

[Author]

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