Financial institutions have complex requirements when it comes to compliance and security. This complexity is the reason many financial institutions work with managed service providers (MSPs). Most MSPs offer a high level of expertise and focus, but not all of them have SOC 2 attestation. Let’s take a look at why your MSP should be SOC 2 compliant.
What Is SOC 2 Attestation?
The SOC 2 attestation was developed by the American Institute of CPAs to ensure service organizations adequately handle and protect IT sensitive data. Attestation is based on an external audit that looks at five areas, known as the Trust Services Criteria:
- Security: Information and systems are protected from unauthorized access and damage that could impact the organization’s ability to meet its objectives.
- Availability: Information and systems are available for use.
- Processing integrity: System processing is complete, accurate and timely.
- Confidentiality: Confidential information is protected appropriately.
- Privacy: Personal information is collected and retained appropriately.
Why It Matters for Your MSP
MSPs are not required to be SOC 2 certified, and most of them aren’t. However, MSPs work closely with your IT systems and data. Any gap in IT security or compliance on their end could jeopardize your data’s safety – and if an MSP or other third-party partner mishandles your company’s data (including confidential customer or financial data), your company is responsible for the consequences.
For your MSP to truly act as a trusted partner, it should be able to demonstrate a full understanding of IT data security and compliance, and it should have an established process for secure data handling and management. SOC 2 attestation shows that your MSP has taken the time to ensure it meets a high standard for data security, compliance and privacy.
BBH has SOC 2 attestation, which makes it uniquely positioned to assist you in several areas, including
Compliance
Many financial organizations are working with lean IT teams. IT compliance is time-consuming, and preparing for audits or implementing remediation requires extensive work. If your entire IT staff is focused on preparing for audits and compliance, it takes away from working on other business-critical goals.
In addition to audit preparation and response, IT compliance should be ongoing in your organization. BBH’s SOC 2 attestation means that we understand how to manage your day-to-day IT compliance as well as prepare for or respond to an audit. We specialize in helping financial organizations with both day-to-day IT compliance and audit specific activities, leaving your IT team to focus on strategic, big-picture initiatives.
Security
BBH’s SOC 2 attestation also means we have an in-depth understanding of proper data management and cybersecurity. We can apply that knowledge to your institution. Many aspects of security are tedious, including monitoring and reviewing alerts. At BBH, we offer security services like:
- Round-the-clock monitoring and alerting.
- Internal and external vulnerability scans.
- Patch management.
- Threat mitigation.
BBH: An MSP With SOC 2 Attestation
BBH has been in business since 1989, and we believe in developing long-term relationships with our clients. We stand behind the work we do and have the certifications to prove it. We work closely with our partners to help them navigate compliance, harden security and improve profitability.
To learn more about why financial institutions choose and stick with BBH, download our whitepaper, The Case for BBH.
