If you’re still accepting SOC 2 reports from your vendors as your primary assurance mechanism, it’s time to take another look. SOC 2 was once considered a strong security indicator for many organizations. However, it has now become little more than a check-the-box exercise.
Why SOC 2 isn’t enough
The threat landscape has evolved. Data breaches have become harder to detect. Cyberattacks have become more sophisticated. Bad actors are finding new ways to target weak vendors and gain access to sensitive data from multiple organizations. Not just that, ransomware attacks have also increased, disrupting business continuity and causing major reputational and financial damages.
The problem? SOC 2 has not evolved to tackle these new-age challenges. Instead, it has been trivialized to the point where it no longer signifies robust assurance.
Automation, inconsistency in auditing practices, and vendor-scoped control selection result in many SOC 2 reports providing limited insight into a vendor’s actual security posture. Often, they also miss critical control areas, like third-party risk management (TPRM) and email security, putting your organization at risk of inherited vulnerabilities.
In a time of escalating ransomware attacks and increased regulatory scrutiny, the assurance mechanisms you rely on need to do more than just say that your vendor is secure. They need to prove it.
That’s where HITRUST certification comes in.
Why HITRUST is a better alternative
HITRUST offers an effective, standardized approach to vendor risk management.
Unlike SOC 2, HITRUST
- Stays ahead of emerging threats with threat intelligence data
- Uses a comprehensive, prescriptive framework aligned with 60+ standards
- Delivers proven results as 99.41% of HITRUST-certified environments remained breach-free in 2024
- Offers scalable assessment options based on business needs and vendor’s risk profile
- Streamlines managing large volumes of vendors and reduces manual effort
- Encourages continued risk tracking and remediation
But what does this mean for your vendor risk management strategy? And how can you adopt this effective TPRM approach?
To explain this, we’ve created a concise eBook to help you evaluate SOC 2’s limitations and explore why modern organizations are replacing it with HITRUST certification as their new TPRM baseline.
Read the eBook now to learn more: Why It’s Time to Rethink SOC 2 in Third-Party Risk Management
It’s time to move from traditional, checkbox compliance to proven cybersecurity assurance that can truly reduce risk and help protect your business. Choose HITRUST certification over SOC 2 reports to strengthen your TPRM program.