Data privacy is important to consumers and businesses alike. According to a recent Cisco survey, over 90% of business leaders said that strong privacy protections were important for their customers, and even more (98%) expected their own vendors to have privacy certifications. Implementing SOC 2 privacy controls is one way to show clients that your organization adheres to leading privacy standards.
What Is the SOC 2 Privacy Criteria?
Privacy is one of the five pillars of SOC 2 compliance, also known as SOC 2 Trust Principles or Trust Services Criteria. The Privacy Criteria establishes controls and best practices for processing personal information. To meet SOC privacy requirements, organizations need to develop detailed privacy policies, communication practices, access control mechanisms, security monitoring systems, and notification processes.
In broad terms, the Privacy Criteria deals with the way your organization handles personal information. This includes:
- How you collect personal data
- What information you gather
- How long you store it
- How you use the information and for what purposes
- Who has access to the data and who you share it with
In addition to impacting what you collect, SOC 2 privacy controls also cover how you obtain the data. Managing user consent is a key part of compliance.
SOC 2 Privacy Controls Vs. Confidentiality TSC
The SOC 2 Privacy Criteria and the Confidentiality Criteria both involve protecting sensitive data. The key difference is that privacy controls only address personal information, whereas confidentiality covers other sensitive data, such as business agreements and legal documents.
Personally identifiable information includes:
- Names
- Identification numbers, such as SSNs or REAL IDs in the United States
- Street addresses
- Banking and credit card information
- Medical records
- Biometric data (e.g., fingerprints and facial scans)
PII also includes records that identify people when combined with other data. For example, tracking a mobile device is the same as tracking a person if your company has records of who purchased the device.
What Do SOC 2 Privacy Controls Include?
The Privacy Criteria contains eight categories and over 15 subcategories with several points of focus for each one.
P1: Privacy Notices and Policies
This control group requires your organization to communicate your privacy practices to users. Put simply, you need to create a privacy policy that outlines everything individuals need to know about how you use their data.
A comprehensive privacy policy covers every stage of the process, including collection, storage, processing, sharing, and deletion. Explain the details for each type of data, clarifying the differences between information for providing services, internal operations, advertising, or sale to third-party companies.
P2: User Rights and Consent
The SOC 2 Privacy Criteria also emphasizes the need for user consent. In other words, you don’t just tell people what you collect; you also give them the choice to opt in or opt out of certain types of data collection. Keep track of consent forms (or withdrawal of consent) and store them for SOC 2 audits.
P3: Legal Data Collection
The sources of data collection matter, and so does your organization’s approach to transparency. There are important differences between collecting personal data that someone offers willingly and scraping social media to build a detailed profile on your customers.
Does your privacy policy explain to users the ways you obtain data about them? Do these methods adhere to local laws and industry regulations, including PCI DSS?
P4: Usage and Retention of PII
This section covers organizational privacy controls related to PII usage, retention limits, and disposal practices. You must limit the use of personal information to the terms you set out in your privacy policy.
For example, if a hospital gets patient consent to use data to track and fill prescriptions, that doesn’t mean the information can be used for marketing purposes or shared with drug companies.
You also need to develop standardized controls for retention and disposal. Data minimization can reduce data breach risks and help you with GDPR compliance.
P5: Access Controls
The SOC 2 Security Criteria is connected with all the other pillars, and privacy is no exception. Part of ensuring the privacy of user data means making sure only authorized individuals have access. Robust authentication — including for internal access — and strong cybersecurity are critical.
The other side of the coin is allowing users to access their own information. How much access you must provide usually depends on government regulations, especially HIPAA and GDPR.
P6: Third-Party Privacy and Disclosures
The actions of third-party organizations and partners can affect your company’s SOC 2 compliance. There must be limits on what you share, and users should know about your disclosure policies. This can include when you share information with law enforcement agencies.
Privacy management requires you to keep tabs on vendors. Are they SOC 2 Type 2 compliant? What are your standards for dealing with vendor breaches?
P7: Data Accuracy
This criteria aligns closely with GDPR and HIPAA requirements for accuracy and availability. Put simply, if you maintain data on users, you must take reasonable steps to ensure that it stays accurate and up to date. This is especially vital for information that impacts the services you provide or a user’s legal rights, such as banking information and account passwords.
P8: Privacy Audits and Improvement
This area of SOC 2 privacy controls outlines the creation of auditing, monitoring, and compliance tracking processes. Some companies fall short in implementing consistent disciplinary actions for violations. SOC 2 inspectors ask to see reports of compliance and remedial actions for noncompliance.
Which Organizations Need the Privacy Criteria for SOC 2 Audits?
The Privacy Criteria isn’t mandatory for SOC 2 Type 1 or Type 2 audits, but it’s increasingly important. More than 75% of Americans want companies to give them more control over their personal information.
The Privacy Criteria is also valuable for businesses that need to meet HIPAA, GDPR, or CCPA requirements. Many SOC 2 privacy controls overlap with these regulations.
How Can You Implement SOC 2 Privacy Controls in Your Organization?
Privacy compliance must be an ongoing commitment. To achieve this objective, organizations need a management process. Compliance automation platforms are an ideal solution.
Compyl’s tools include framework mapping, document workflows, and in-depth monitoring insights. They help you implement SOC 2 privacy controls step by step in every business unit. Discover a cutting-edge SOC 2 solution for your business today.
