What should a vendor risk assessment for SOC 2 include?

A SOC 2 vendor risk assessment should include the vendor’s service, data access, system access, business criticality, available security evidence, compliance reports, incident history, subprocessors, contract requirements, and review frequency. The assessment should end with a documented decision: approve, approve with conditions, remediate, reject, or accept the residual risk.

Why is vendor risk management important?

Vendor/third-party risk management is important because it mitigates the severity and frequency of data breaches, data leaks, and cyber attacks involving third and third-party vendors, protecting sensitive data and ensuring business continuity for better business relationships.

How do I request a SOC 2 report from a vendor?

Request the vendor’s SOC 2 report during due diligence or contract review, especially if the vendor stores customer data, supports production systems, processes payments, or affects service availability. For high-risk vendors, review the report scope, audit period, exceptions, complementary user entity controls, and whether the report covers the service you plan to use.

What if a vendor does not have a SOC 2 report?

A vendor without a SOC 2 report can still be reviewed, but the due diligence should match the risk. You can request an ISO 27001 certificate, a security questionnaire, a penetration test summary, a data processing agreement, incident response documentation, a business continuity plan, or other evidence. For high-risk vendors, document the gap, compensating controls, and risk acceptance decision.

How to compare vendors for SOC 2 compliance?

Organizations should compare vendors based on their SOC 2 reports, security controls, integration capabilities, automation features, audit support, risk monitoring, pricing, and ability to manage continuous compliance.

How do vendors support management throughout the SOC 2 audit journey?

Vendors support the SOC 2 audit journey through automated evidence collection, continuous monitoring, policy management, risk assessments, audit-ready reporting, and guided remediation workflows.

How do vendors supporting SOC 2 audit preparation handle integration with existing HR and IT systems?

SOC 2 vendors integrate with HR and IT systems through APIs and connectors for tools like Google Workspace, Okta, cloud platforms, ticketing systems, and identity providers to automate evidence collection and access reviews.

Which in-app notifications do vendors provide for SOC2 compliance?

SOC 2 compliance vendors typically provide in-app notifications for failed controls, pending tasks, access changes, vendor risks, policy acknowledgments, audit deadlines, and compliance violations to maintain continuous readiness.

SOC 2 Archives

Blogs, SOC 2

A Quick Guide to SOC 2 Vendor Management

TL;DR SOC 2 vendor management evaluates and monitors third-party vendors against security and compliance standards outlined by SOC 2’s trust service principles. Vendors under SOC 2 include cloud service providers, IT infrastructure providers, data processors, software providers, and any external party that accesses or stores customer data on behalf of the reporting entity The process…

Blogs, SOC 2

Proving Compliance: Why SOC 2 Evidence Collection Matters

TL,DR: SOC 2 evidence proves your controls operate as described during the audit period. Auditors expect policies, logs, screenshots, configurations, attestations, tickets, and control owner records. The article explains evidence types, collection mistakes, repository hygiene, and continuous audit readiness. Years ago, collecting evidence was a walk in the park. But we can’t say the same…

Blogs, NIST, SOC 2

SOC 2 vs NIST: What’s the Difference?

TL;DR The world of the cloud has enabled the B2B environment with agility, interoperability, integration capabilities, and more. But, this also demands increased security abilities to protect the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data and comply with the globalcom standards. Often choosing the right compliance framework to demonstrate this becomes a blocker for business owners….

Blogs, SOC 1, SOC 2, Uncategorized

BuyerAssist gets to SOC 2 in just 6 sessions!

Milestone alert: BuyerAssist is now SOC-2 certified! ✅ 🚀 We are thrilled to announce that one of our prestigious customers, BuyerAssist, has cleared the audit and is now SOC-2 certified in just 6 sessions with the help of Sprinto. Wait, what? Yes, BuyerAssist’s strong team + Sprinto’s powerful automation tool made it possible. What’s SOC 2? …

Blogs, SOC 1, SOC 2, Uncategorized

Funding Alert: We just raised $10M Series A funding and sprinted to 100s of customers in just 7 months

It gives us immense pleasure to announce that we have raised $10M as part of our Series A funding led by Elevation Capital, participation from Accel and Blume ventures. We started this journey in Mid 2021 with an aim to ensure that SaaS deals should be won based on merit and not financial muscle. We…