InstantCard is pleased to announce that it has now received SOC2 Type 1 Certification. This is a significant milestone for its clients, who expect the highest level of data integrity from the vendors they use and entrust with their employee’s Personally Identifiable Information, or PII. After a rigorous audit process, our company has been certified to conform to industry best-practices for the protection of data and for security procedures.
In today’s digital age, online ID card services have become an integral part of many businesses. These services allow companies to efficiently and securely manage their employee identification cards and access control systems. However, with the increasing use of such services, businesses have become more concerned about the security and privacy of their data. This is where SOC2 compliance comes into play.
SOC2 compliance is a widely recognized standard that ensures that the online service provider follows strict security protocols to protect its customers’ data. It is a highly detailed audit procedure that evaluates the service provider’s systems and processes, ensuring they meet the standards set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Five main areas covered by a SOC2 Audit:
- Security: This area covers the controls related to the protection of the system from unauthorized access, theft, and destruction. It includes access controls, network security, and physical security.
- Availability: This area covers the controls related to ensuring that the system is available for use as agreed upon with the customers. It includes redundancy, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning.
- Processing Integrity: This area covers the controls related to ensuring that the system processes data accurately, completely, and on a timely basis. It includes input validation, data transformation, and processing accuracy.
- Confidentiality: This area covers the controls related to protecting confidential information from unauthorized disclosure. It includes data classification, encryption, and confidentiality agreements.
- Privacy: This area covers the controls related to protecting personal information in accordance with the organization’s privacy policy and applicable laws and regulations. It includes data collection, use, retention, and disposal.
During the SOC2 audit, the auditors assess the service organization’s controls in each of these areas to determine their effectiveness in meeting the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. The audit report provides an opinion on the service organization’s controls and identify any deficiencies or areas for improvement. The report can be used by customers and other stakeholders to evaluate the service organization’s controls and make informed decisions about their use of the service.
Don’t hesitate to request a copy of InstantCard’s SOC2 Type 1 Audit Report.
So, how does SOC2 type 1 compliance benefit our clients? Here are a few key considerations.
Enhanced security and privacy of data
With SOC2 compliance, clients can be assured that the online ID card service provider is following the highest security standards to protect their data. These standards cover everything from physical security to data encryption, ensuring that the data is kept confidential, secure, and private. The audit covers every aspect of daily operations, including data at rest, data in transit, HR policies and procedures, a detailed risk assessment, and the company’s ability to respond to any incident.
Increased trust and confidence in the service provider
SOC2 compliance is a rigorous and comprehensive audit process. Once a service provider achieves compliance, it demonstrates to its clients that it is committed to following the best practices to safeguard their data. This can help increase trust and confidence in the service provider and lead to long-term business relationships. Small badging providers and print operators that don’t have highly trained IT teams are unable to undergo the intensive scrutiny involved with a SOC2 audit.
To the best of our knowledge, InstantCard is the only ID card provider in the industry to achieve this level of independent, third party external audit.
Reduced risk of data breaches
Data breaches can be costly and damaging to any business’s reputation. SOC2 compliance significantly reduces the risk of data breaches by ensuring that the online ID card service provider has implemented all the necessary security protocols and processes to protect against potential threats. With the mounting concern about cyber-terrorism, well-run companies are requiring all their vendors to take enhanced precautions to guard against this real and present danger.
More and more of our large corporate clients, with tens of thousands of employees, are requiring SOC2 compliance, or equivalent security guarantees, of their vendors who handle PII. However, every one of our clients, large and small, benefits from the very same data protections provided to our major, multi-site customers.
Improved efficiency and productivity
By using an online ID card service provider that has achieved SOC2 compliance, businesses can streamline their ID card management processes. This can lead to improved efficiency and productivity, as employees can quickly and easily access the services they need, without any unnecessary delays or disruptions. In fact, data managed by a SOC2 certified badging services is often demonstrably more secure than data which is dispersed in various remote offices to support local card printing.
Conclusion
SOC2 compliance should be an essential standard for online ID card service providers. It is fast becoming a minimum requirement to be an approved vendor to many corporate customers, and InstantCard is proud to be leading this trend in our industry. SOC2 ensures that the service provider has implemented the necessary security protocols and processes to protect their clients’ data. For businesses, this means enhanced security and privacy of data, increased trust and confidence in the service provider, reduced risk of data breaches, compliance with regulatory requirements, and improved efficiency and productivity. Therefore, when any organization is seeking an online cloud services vendor for its ID card program, they should look for providers who have achieved SOC 2 compliance.
