SOC2 Attestation or ISO27001 Certification Which is applicable to your organization
                     DATE:- 29.06.2020
SOC2 Attestation 
or ISO27001 Certification 
Which is applicable to your 
organization? 01.
02. Introduction
• Organizations struggle with the decision between selecting the SOC 2 attestation or ISO 27001 
Certification. 
• Both the audits provide a competitive advantage in today’s Information security landscape. 
• It is important to understand which audit is required & suitable for your organization.
• Essential to understand which audit can be utilized to gain advantages over the market 
competition and achieve compliance with a regulatory requirement.
• We have drawn out a comparative study between SO2 examination and ISO 27001 certification 
for an organization’s better understanding. 
Explaining SOC2 
Audit Report 03
• SOC 2 audit evaluates the internal controls, policies, and .
procedures relating to the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria.
• Focuses on a service organization’s internal controls, 
pertaining to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, 
Confidentiality, and Privacy of a system/process. 
• It is a powerful market differentiator that can help 
companies gain a competitive edge over others in their 
industry
04 Explaining ISO27001 Certification
. • It is an internationally-accepted Information Security 
Standard for governing an organization’s Information 
Security Management System (ISMS).
• It is a framework of policies and procedures that preserves 
the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of an 
organization's information by applying the Risk 
Management Process.
• The Standard Regulates how organizations effectively run 
an ISMS through policies and procedures and associated 
legal, physical, and technical controls.
• An organization needs to integrate ISMS with the company’s 
operational process, and overall management structure.
Similarities between
ISO27001 Certification and 05
SOC2 Report .
Assessors AAddddrreesssseess  Implementation of 
for InInffoorrmaattioionn  Policy and 
Audit SSeeccuurritityy Procedure 
Demonstrates 
Management Internationa
Management 
Roles & l 
Commitment 
Responsibility- Applicability 
06. Differences between ISO27001 Certification & SOC2 
Report
Titles SOC2  ISO27001 
Attestation Certification 
The focus is to measure and validate the The main focus is to establish, 
Focu capabilities implement maintain, and improve 
s of the service organization's control system an ISMS.  
against 
Scope & STheecu srcitoyp Per idnecpipelneds s& o Cn rtitheer ioar.g anization's service The scope and applicability of ISO 
Applicabilit controls which are based on the 5 Trust Service 27001 Certificate can be defined Principles based on an organization’s 
y objective and priority
Facilitate service organization management in Help organizations establish and 
Purpos reporting to their customers that they have met achieve certification stating that established security criteria that ensure systems the company meets specified 
e are protected against unauthorized access requirements and is thus certified 
as best practice.
Certification SOC2 reporting is not a certification but an ISO27001 is a 
/ Attestation. certification 
Attestation 
Differences between 
ISO27001 Certification & SOC2 07.
Report
Titles SOC2  ISO27001 
Attestation Certification 
An attestation report which includes an opinion The deliverable for an ISO 27001 is 
letter, an assertion letter, a system description a certificate which includes 
Deliverabl containing an extensive narrative on the five key information on the ISMS scope, in-components of the organization’s system under scope locations, standard certified 
es review, organizational procedures, and finally the against, date of certificate issued 
applicable trust services criteria, related control and date of expiration, etc.
activities, and the testing performed by the 
auditor and the related test results
Certifying Only a licensed CPA firm can conduct the SOC2 Only a recognized ISO27001 
Authority Audit and provide an attestation for the same. accredited registrar can certify an organization for ISO27001.
Organization SOC2 Compliance applies to only service The Standard applies to any
Applicability organizations that store, process and transmits organization and industry vertical customer data. who wish to strengthen and secure 
their Information Security Systems.
08 Differences between ISO27001 Certification & SOC2 
. ReportTitles SOC2  ISO27001 Attestation Certification 
Market The SOC 2 attestation is a recognized standard in ISO 27001 is an international 
Applicabilit the United States, created and governed by the standard accepted globally.
y AICPA
ISO27001 usually takes 12-18 
It typically takes 12-18 months to complete an 
Time Frame months to complete, but entire process from start to finish for SOC 2 Type 1 depending on the additional 
& Type 2
process and documentation 
attestation.
required to install an operating 
ISMS.
ISO27001 Certification is valid for 
Validity SOC2 Attestation is valid only for 1 year and 3needs an annual audit
years with basic compliance audits 
conducted in the 2nd and 3rd year.
What applies to your 
organization? 09
.
• Which market does your organization plan 
to target?
• What assessments are customers 
requesting?
• What assessments are your competitors 
undergoing?
Conclusio 10
n
• Both ISO27001 & SOC2 are excellent compliance efforts for .
organizations to demonstrate operating effectiveness of their 
internal controls, and their compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Considering the key decision factors may help your organization 
determine the appropriate assessment for your organization.
• Looking at the wider coverage, if your organization is going ahead 
with SOC2 then you will by default meet the requirements of ISO 
27001 Certificate. 
Thank You
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