As part of our certifications through ISACA (CISA, CISM and CRISC), we regularly flip through the ISACA Journal dog-earring the pertinent articles and other learning materials available to us through this organization. In looking at one of the prior issues the other day, I again ran across a very insightful article titled Understanding the New SOC Reports. Since we are in the examination program just like financial institutions, we also have to be diligent in our annual vendor reviews and comb through our own vendors’ IT security related and other documentation. As such, this article interested me.

From SAS 70 to SOC-1, SOC-2 and SOC-3

And so it begins…

“With the transition from Statement on Auditing Standard (SAS) No. 70 reports to the new Service Organization Controls (SOC) reports, this issue’s column describes these reports to provide an understanding of them, and to explain the differences among them in order to prepare CISAs for the changes ahead.”

If you are a vendor owner or just want to learn more about the new SOC reports, it would be worth your while to read Understanding the New SOC Reports published by ISACA.