Define Your SOC 2 Scope

What Is SOC 2 Scope?

A SOC 2 scope defines the specific areas of internal controls that will be assessed during a SOC 2 audit, such as the systems and processes that ensure the protection of customer data. It is determined by three factors: 

• Services included in the report—The scope starts with identifying the IT services or systems set for the audit. These services are often the core offerings a service organization depends on.
• Relevant Trust Service Criteria (TSCs)—The audit has to address all relevant trust principles, which include security (mandatory), availability, confidentiality, processing integrity, and privacy.
• Time period—The audit can either cover a specific point in time (Type I) or an extended period (Type II), depending on your needs.

Aside from that, the scope of a SOC 2 cybersecurity attestation can be high-level or detailed, with the latter requiring management and auditor input, typically in the form of a SOC readiness assessment.  

At Which Stage of a SOC 2 Audit Is Scoping Performed?

Scoping occurs during the planning phase—often during a readiness assessment—especially if it’s an organization’s first SOC 2 audit. 

However, the scope is not set in stone. Changes to the organization’s IT environment, operations, or services—or client requests—can (but rarely do) lead to adjustments.

What Does a SOC 2 Scope Include?

A SOC 2 scope includes all system, human resource, and data processing aspects. These data are involved in the maintenance of your information security program and protect you from data breaches within the context of SOC 2 TSCs. These are:

• Services—These are the services the organization provides, especially those that involve customer data handling or processing. 
• Policies—These are the security and governance policies that dictate how your organization manages and protects customer data. 
• Systems—This includes any system where customer data is managed, stored, and processed.
• Processes—These are the organization’s processes and cloud security control activities for handling data management and security.
• People—This includes assessing how effectively the staff enforces data security practices and whether it follows proper procedures.

How To Define the Scope of Your SOC 2 Audit

There are five steps for defining the scope of a SOC 2 audit. These steps help you identify the focus of the audit, which helps build a more concise audit plan.

The first and most important step is choosing an experienced auditor. Here are more details:

1. Meet with Your Auditor

SOC 2 scoping and auditing requires technical knowledge and experience. To ensure your scope is comprehensive, reach out to PunGroup. Your initial meeting with a third-party auditor will allow them to understand:

• Your service offerings
• Your current control environment
• The procedures and policies in place
• The systems supporting the services and system requirements
• The vendors and subservice organizations you work with
• The personnel involved 

This way, your auditor will be better equipped to assess the relevant systems, services, and controls, and you’ll be better prepared to provide the necessary documentation and evidence for the audit. 

2. Select Relevant TSCs

Once your auditor understands the layout of your systems and the people involved in managing them, work with them to identify the SOC 2 TSCs that apply to your organization. 

Each TSC focuses on different aspects of data protection, such as:

• Security—It focuses on protecting systems against unauthorized access.
• Availability—It is relevant if system uptime is important, such as in 24/7 service operations.
• Processing integrity—You should include this if your business handles large volumes of sensitive data (health or financial) through complex systems like e-commerce platforms. 
• Confidentiality—This is for businesses that work with personally identifiable or sensitive data (passwords, intellectual property, health information, etc.) that must be protected from unauthorized access.
• Privacy—Privacy compliance is required for companies handling personal information (such as protected health information) especially those subject to regulations like HIPAA or GDPR.

You must choose the security criterion because it’s mandatory. You can choose one or more of the others if they’re relevant, depending on your SOC 2 requirements and goals. 

3. Document the Services Included in the Scope

Discuss which services and systems should be mentioned in the scope with your auditor. You want to include all services that collect, store, process, or transmit sensitive or personal data.

Make sure to include services that directly impact customer data protection while avoiding over-scoping with systems that aren’t relevant.

If your organization uses sub-service providers or third-party vendors, you also need to consider them because they may have access to your data or systems. 

4. Identify System Boundaries and Components

Once you’ve specified all relevant services, identify all relevant systems, procedures, and people that are involved in the protection of sensitive data. This includes:

• Procedures—All standard operating procedures (SOPs) that outline how specific security tasks are performed, such as incident management, access control, and data backup and restoration procedures.
• Systems—All physical and technical systems that are in place to support data security. This includes firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), access control mechanisms, cloud computing systems, ticketing systems, and security information and event management (SIEM) tools. 
• Policies—All policies that affect security practices, like acceptable use, change management, and data retention and use policies. 
• Personnel—All the people responsible for implementing and overseeing service providers controls, such as executive management, product management personnel, engineers, developers, and those who oversee your information security management system. You need to clearly define process owners and their roles and responsibilities in the scope.
• Infrastructure—All the hardware and physical components of the in-scope system, such as hosting providers, network devices, operating systems, and servers.

5. Choose Between SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2

The final step is to decide between the following types of SOC 2 reports: 

1. SOC 2 Type I—The scope of this audit focuses on whether certain controls exist or are set up properly at a specific point in time. This gives a static and limited picture of your security measures. 
2. SOC 2 Type II—This audit has a broader scope because it looks at the design of your controls and tests how effective they are over a period of 6–12 months. As a result, it serves as an assurance report and provides a more comprehensive review of your system components to help you build trust. 

If you’re looking to ensure long-term compliance or need to prove the ongoing effectiveness of your security measures to build customer trust, Type II SOC 2 can have more benefits. It gives end users and stakeholders a higher level of confidence in your security compliance program—but keep in mind that it’s a bigger commitment.

What Are the Benefits of a Well-Defined SOC 2 Scope?

Understanding the benefits of a well-defined SOC 2 scope is crucial for organizations looking to strengthen their security posture and streamline compliance efforts.

The benefits of a well-defined SOC 2 scope include:

1. Targets Critical Areas

A well-defined scope ensures your audit targets only the systems and processes that influence data security in your organization. 

It prevents scope creep, where the scope report focuses on aspects beyond its originally defined boundaries, often causing delays and inaccuracies. This saves time and resources during the audit.

2. Reduces Confusion

A clear scope provides clarity for everyone involved in the audit. Your team knows exactly what will be assessed, which reduces confusion and helps prepare the necessary documentation. 

Your service auditor can also work more efficiently with a well-defined scope and avoid delays or misunderstandings.

3. Creates a Reference for Future Audits

A structured SOC 2 scope acts as a reference for future audits. This helps your organization consistently track which systems and security processes need review in the future and double down when needed. 

As a result, you have to spend less time and effort to prepare for subsequent audits because you’ll already know which areas will be covered. 

Common Challenges With Defining SOC 2 Scope

Challenges with SOC 2 scoping stem from including too much or too little information. As a result, organizations end up with either an inadequate audit report or spend too much time and money on an over-scoped analysis.

Here are some audit scope considerations:

1. Over-Scoping 

Over-scoping occurs when you include too many systems, services, or processes in your audit. While it may seem like covering everything is a safe bet, your audit can quickly become expensive and more complex if you over-scope. 

It will also take longer to complete and require more resources—both in terms of time and money.

2. Under-Scoping

On the flip side, under-scoping results in missed vulnerabilities. Leaving out critical systems or processes creates gaps in the audit, which causes compliance issues with regulations.

You can also miss vulnerabilities in your security framework. This increases the risk of breaches and leaks. 

3. Fast Pace of Change 

Around 18% of auditors or organizations find it difficult to keep the scope aligned with current organizational needs due to changes in technology and services as well as market expansion. A fast pace of change requires constant updates and revisions, which adds extra layers of planning and coordination.

4. Expanding Client Expectations 

According to the Institute of Internal Auditor’s Vision 2035 survey, 30% of auditors struggle with expanding expectations from leadership and stakeholders. This happens when clients request more coverage or detail in SOC 2 audits than initially planned, which can lead to scope creep.

The constant push for more coverage strains internal audit functions—especially if the organization lacks the necessary support or resources to handle increased requests—and makes it difficult to deliver high-quality reports. 

5. Lack of Clarity

When the scope isn’t clear—which is a challenge 50% of auditors run into—it creates confusion and leads to misaligned expectations between the organization and auditors, resulting in missed objectives or unnecessary assessment initiatives.

Get a Well-Defined SOC 2 Scope With PunGroup

A well-defined SOC 2 scope is the foundation of an effective audit. If you’re struggling to narrow your SOC 2 audit scope or don’t know where to start in the first place, we can help. 

At PunGroup, we have a decade of experience performing SOC 2 audits across various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, government, and more. This gives our team the expertise to identify your audit scope, document all in-scope systems, and help you manage the details throughout the auditing process.

We make sure you have a clear understanding of what needs to be audited and when. Ready to streamline your SOC 2 audit and ensure a clear, effective scope? Get on a call with us to learn more about our audit services!