What Is SOC 2 Compliance?

Businesses trust cloud providers daily with their most sensitive data—from intellectual property and financial records to customer information and operational analytics. To demonstrate their commitment to protecting sensitive data, most organizations adhere to a standardized security framework, such as the SOC Standards (SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3). Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the SOC Standards define comprehensive requirements for internal controls to achieve service commitments.

Modern cloud computing architectures distribute data across multiple zones, instances, and services, which introduces additional security complexity when compared to traditional on-premises solutions. When organizations use cloud services, they extend their security perimeter to include the provider’s infrastructure, making the provider’s security controls as important as their own. This distributed responsibility model means businesses must carefully evaluate the security practices of every cloud service in their stack. SOC 2 provides a standardized framework for assessing these crucial security controls, covering topics such as data encryption, access management, network monitoring, and incident response protocols. Read on to understand the technical underpinnings of SOC 2, its essential security criteria, and how the Standards help promote data protection in the cloud.

What is SOC 2 compliance?

SOC 2 is a cybersecurity compliance framework that validates if a company has adequate controls to safeguard sensitive information the organization stores or processes on behalf of its customers. If an organization opts to demonstrate SOC 2 Compliance, the entity will choose between two report types:

• SOC 2 Type I evaluates an organization’s data security controls at a single point in time

• SOC 2 Type II evaluates an organization’s security controls over a period of time

DigitalOcean maintains both SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 Type II certifications as part of our commitment to protecting sensitive information. These certifications, issued by our external auditor, Schellman & Company LLC, align with AICPA’s globally recognized Trust Services Criteria, covering the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of our products and services.

The SOC 3 Type II report summarizes DigitalOcean’s SOC 2 Type II report and is readily available for public review. Our comprehensive SOC 2 Type II report can be accessed through our Security Reports & Certifications Center.

The Five Trust Services Criteria

Achieving SOC 2 Compliance requires an organization to implement security controls that support the following security criteria:

1. Security: The foundation of it all. This criteria covers how an organization protects their systems against unauthorized access through policies and procedures, risk assessments, logical and physical access controls, system monitoring, change management, and risk mitigation.

2. Availability: An organization’s systems must be reliable enough for customers and employees to access them when needed. This criterion considers performance monitoring, business continuity plans, and disaster recovery.

3. Processing data integrity: Simply put—does an organization’s system operate as it should? The processing category validates the reliability of an organization’s systems to process data accurately.

4. Confidentiality: While all Trust Service Criteria promote secure management of sensitive information, the confidentiality criteria are relevant for organizations that handle data that must be kept confidential under the principle of least privilege. This category validates an organization’s ability to identify, maintain, and dispose of confidential information appropriately.

5. Privacy: The privacy criteria prioritizes the protection of consumer rights with respect to their data. This category reviews notices, consent mechanisms, data use, retention, disposal protocols, and applicable disclosures.

Why SOC 2 Compliance Matters

The AICPA created the SOC standards to assure customers and fellow businesses that an organization has the appropriate security guidelines in place. As a result, obtaining a SOC 2 certification is a rigorous process that ultimately builds trust with customers and partners. For many businesses, DigitalOcean included, it’s a non-negotiable part of their operations.

Here’s why that matters:

• Data protection: SOC 2 compliance means the provider has implemented comprehensive security controls that are routinely tested and verified.

• Risk reduction: Based on the cloud product in use, customers inherit portions of their cloud providers’ security posture under the Shared Responsibility Model. With a SOC 2 compliant provider, customers can be more confident their risk footprint is managed appropriately.

• Streamlined compliance: Many regulatory requirements can be partially satisfied by working with SOC 2 compliant providers, making it easier for customers to meet their own compliance obligations.

Interpreting a SOC 2 Report

Every SOC 2 report contains a mapping of the organization’s controls to the Trust Services Criteria as well as an explanation of the test the external auditor conducted to confirm control performance. Test results are also disclosed. Below, please find the common sections found within a SOC 2 report, alongside guidance on how to interpret each:

1. Auditor’s Report: Summary of the auditor’s findings and their assessment of the organization’s security practices relative to the Trust Services Criteria.

2. Management’s Assertion: Prepared by the organization being audited, this section summarizes the organization’s controls and expected performance.

3. System Description: More in-depth than Management’s Assertion, this section is a thorough summary of the organization’s information security system, including:

• Product descriptions

• Service-level commitments and system requirements (e.g., Security and availability commitments)

• Components integral to system performance (e.g., Infrastructure, people, training, etc.)

4. Testing Results: The results and a detailed explanation of each test applied to each control to determine effectiveness. Test results are categorized as follows:

• No exceptions noted: Test results demonstrate operational effectiveness of controls

• Non-occurrence: Activities which facilitate testing of the control did not occur

• Change in application of control activity: Modifications were made to established procedures or processes used to implement the control during the review period

• Exception: Deficiency in the operating effectiveness of the control activity

5. Management’s Response to Testing Exceptions, if necessary: The organization’s response to control failures represented in the Auditor’s Report and Testing Results

Deploy on DigitalOcean’s SOC 2 Certified Cloud

When you choose a cloud provider, you’re not just selecting a service—you’re choosing a security partner. That’s why we maintain SOC 2 compliance, alongside other certifications, to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to protecting your sensitive information.

Our SOC 2 compliance covers critical controls across all Trust Services Criteria. This means when you build on DigitalOcean, you build on a foundation of proven security practices and controls. We’ve done the heavy lifting of implementing and maintaining these security measures so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business.

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