Information Security (IS) policy is the cornerstone of SOC 2 compliance for any organization, and acts as the foundation for all other infosec-related policies. The key objective of the IS policy is to ensure all employees and service providers who have the access to critical data related to the organization, or its networks, satisfy the stated rules and regulations. It is important to note that the IS policy covers both physical and digital data.
This policy provides guidance on restricted admittance to various systems and applications and expectations from the admin accounts and their holders. It also covers the process for authorizing, modifying, and removing users, and access using the role-based access control.
The password policy includes the approach for password management, and the necessary protocols for password creation (e.g., length and complexity), changes (e.g., frequency of password changes), and mechanisms (e.g., multi-factor authentication).
Data classification policy incorporates instructions on how to protect data and what measures need to be taken to secure the data based on the criticality and sensitivity of the data itself.
The physical security policy incorporates the basics of protecting data assets from ecological and physical dangers. This reduces threats from theft, loss, harm or unauthorized access to these valuable assets.
The Acceptable Use policy describes the restrictions and regulations for utilizing the organization’s technology assets.
Regular Backup policy is vital for any organization in the cloud era. The policy necessitates protecting critical business data with fixed periodic backups. Ideally, backups can be safely stored with the 3-2-1 method. That implies three data copies should be stored in two different types of media, and one copy should be saved for disaster recovery.
The logging and monitoring policy lays out the requirements that need to be satisfied for logging user activities and protocols for log inspections.
The Risk Management policy covers the mechanisms and procedures for performing risk assessments. This also covers expected threats and potential impact. Through this policy, one can assess the risk associated with each identified threat, estimate the impact on the organization and define the appropriate mitigation strategies.