SOC2 compliance and secrets security

Cloud-native architectures have revolutionized the way businesses operate, but with innovation comes new security challenges. Microservices, containers, and serverless functions have all proliferated, and so has the number of secrets, and ensuring the security and integrity of these entities has become a critical concern. 

SOC2 (Service Organization Control Type 2) emerges as a vital framework for organizations seeking to demonstrate their commitment to robust information security practices and build trust with their customers and partners.

What is SOC2 compliance?

The SOC2 framework is a cybersecurity standard that helps service organizations properly safeguard customer data. Developed by the AICPA, it aims to give customers peace of mind that their service providers follow strict information security policies and procedures.

At the core of SOC2 are five trust services criteria that organizations can be evaluated against:

1. Security – Assessing the protection of system resources against unauthorized access
2. Availability – Evaluating if systems are available for operation as promised
3. Processing Integrity – Ensuring that the system processing shows completeness, validity, accuracy, timeliness, and authorization
4. Confidentiality – Confirming that confidential information is protected as agreed
5. Privacy – Validating that personal information is handled by the organization’s privacy notice

Of these five criteria, only security is mandatory in every SOC2 examination. The others are optional and can be audited based on the service organization’s specific operations and customer commitments.

So, if you are a service organization, undergoing a SOC2 audit can demonstrate your adherence to industry best practices in data security. Achieving this compliance shows that you maintain a robust security posture and have appropriate controls in place to mitigate risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer data.

Difference between SOC1 and SOC2

The key difference between SOC1 and SOC2 lies in their focus areas. SOC1 zeroes in on protocols key to a service provider’s financial documentation. It offers peace of mind to client entities and their auditors, confirming that the service provider’s safeguards are aptly crafted and functioning effectively to bolster accurate fiscal reporting.

In contrast, SOC2 has a much broader scope, addressing controls relevant to the 5 trust services discussed earlier. Its reports cater to a wider audience, including compliance officers, IT executives, and regulators, who require assurance over the service organization’s data protection practices. So, against SOC 1’s limited financial reporting controls, we have SOC2 offering flexibility in selecting the applicable trust services criteria based on the organization’s specific services and customer commitments.

Difference between SOC2 Types

SOC 2 Type 1 audit evaluates a company’s controls at a specific point in time, typically on a particular day. It focuses on the design of controls, including systems, tools, and strategies for safeguarding data, and answers the question, “Are the security controls designed properly?” This type of audit is generally less expensive and less time-consuming than a Type 2 audit, making it a good choice if you need a report quickly. However, it does not verify whether the controls were actually followed.

SOC 2 Type 2 audit assesses how controls function over a period of time, usually between 3 and 12 months. It details security controls and tests their effectiveness in real-time with real data, answering the question, “Do the security controls function as intended?” This type of audit requires a more rigorous assessment and provides evidence of how controls were implemented and whether they met their objectives.

SOC2 vs. ISO 27001

SOC2 and ISO 27001 share many common security controls but differ in their overall approach and objectives. ISO 27001 lays out a thorough blueprint for crafting, deploying, and perpetually enhancing an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It’s a risk-based approach that keeps organizations on their toes, constantly assessing and addressing potential security threats.

On the other hand, SOC2 focuses on auditing the design and operating effectiveness of specific controls relevant to the trust services criteria. SOC2 compliance reports provide a snapshot of an organization’s control environment at a time (Type 1) or over a period (Type 2). In contrast, ISO 27001 certification demonstrates an ongoing commitment to information security management.

When do you need SOC2 compliance?

As organizations increasingly adopt cloud services and embrace automation, the number of non-human identities — the credentials used by machines and applications such as service accounts, API keys, and access tokens — is growing exponentially. These identities enable seamless machine-to-machine communication and are critical for the smooth operation of modern IT environments. However, the pace with which we bring them into the fold also introduces significant security challenges that make SOC2 compliance necessary.

The importance of securing secrets and non-human identities

Secrets often have broad access to sensitive systems and data, making them attractive targets for attackers. They are also always on and highly privileged, so if compromised, they can be used for all kinds of cyber-nasties.

Moreover, the lack of visibility and monitoring of non-human identities makes detecting and responding to security incidents difficult. Reliance on third-party tools and services that require access to internal systems consequently introduces third-party security risks. 

SOC2 compliance challenges and best practices

The complexity of SOC2 compliance requirements, coupled with the dynamic nature of cloud systems, makes it difficult for organizations to maintain it as a continuous venture.

One of the primary challenges is the lack of clear mapping between SOC2 controls and cloud services. SOC2 was designed before the widespread adoption of cloud computing, and its requirements don’t always align perfectly with cloud architectures. This can lead to confusion and gaps in compliance efforts.

Another challenge is maintaining continuous compliance in highly dynamic systems. In the cloud, resources are constantly provisioned, configured, and decommissioned. Outdated compliance methods relying on sporadic audits and manual verifications no longer cut the mustard. Organizations need real-time visibility and automated compliance monitoring to keep pace with the rate of change.

Best practices for SOC2 compliant secrets management

Organizations must align secrets management practices with SOC2 controls to effectively mitigate the risks posed by these critical yet vulnerable entities. Here are some best practices:

• First, eliminating hard-coded secrets in code repositories, collaboration systems, messaging systems, and more. These include platforms like GitHut, Slack, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Sharepoint and more.

• It is also highly recommended that organizations maintain an inventory of all non-human identities and classify them based on their criticality and risk level. This visibility enables organizations to prioritize security efforts and ensure appropriate controls are in place for high-risk identities. Entro helps with this by giving you full visibility into your NHI spectrum.

• Extending zero trust principles to non-human identities, such as implementing continuous authentication and authorization based on real-time risk assessment, further enhances the security posture.

• Documenting clear policies and procedures for managing the lifecycle of secrets, including provisioning, rotation, and decommissioning, is essential for demonstrating SOC2 compliance.

• In the same vein, frequently updating confidential information and enforcing stringent access controls based on the principle of least privilege helps mitigate the fallout from compromised login credentials.

• Integrating secrets management into vulnerability management and incident response processes is another key aspect of SOC2 compliance. By continuously discovering and remediating exposed secrets, organizations can proactively take care of secrets security.

SOC2 control groups

The SOC2 framework consists of controls grouped into two main categories: Common Criteria and Additional Trust Services Criteria. We have discussed the latter in the previous sections. Now, coming to common criteria (CC) controls, here’s a SOC2 compliance checklist which is mandatory for every audit with a focus on security:

• CC1: Control environment
• CC2: Communication and information
• CC3: Risk assessment
• CC4: Monitoring activities
• CC5: Control activities
• CC6: Logical and physical access controls
• CC7: System operations
• CC8: Change management
• CC9: Risk mitigation

Implementing SOC2 controls for Kubernetes and AWS

When using Kubernetes and AWS, implementing the right SOC2 compliance security controls is essential. 

SOC2 controls in Kubernetes

The two major control families relevant to containers and Kubernetes are Logical and Physical Access (CC6) and Systems Operations (CC7). Key control groups to focus on include:

• CC6.1: Deploy mechanisms to identify processes or users attempting to circumvent the security boundaries of their designated user and service accounts. This includes looking for unauthorized access attempts by non-human identities such as service accounts.
• CC6.2: Implement systems to flag administrative actions using incorrect credentials, unauthenticated attempts, or when new administrative privileges are granted.
• CC6.3: Detect actions that try to undermine role-based control mechanisms.
• CC6.6: Detect opening unsanctioned network connections and traffic.
• CC6.7: Establish measures to identify attempts to pilfer secrets, tamper with logs or command histories, or execute unauthorized data transmission programs during runtime.
• CC6.8: Implement robust detection systems to identify and thwart the deployment of malicious software.
• CC7.1: Implement benchmark reports for misconfigurations and recommended secure practices on containers and Kubernetes configurations.
• CC7.2: Maintain a unified, real-time security event stream that serves as the definitive source for the status of all containers and clusters. A single-pane view that shows you all your secrets will help with this.
• CC7.3: Implement a comprehensive security dashboard offering a bird’s-eye view of all security metrics, categorized by severity, featuring live data and recent trend analysis. This will help further enforce secrets security policies.

SOC2 controls in AWS

For AWS, organizations can leverage various services and tools to support SOC2 compliance efforts:

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Use IAM to securely manage access to AWS resources, implement least privilege, and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). IAM is critical for meeting SOC2 compliance requirements around access control. IAM roles for EC2 instances and other AWS services help avoid hardcoding credentials and provide secure access for non-human identities which goes a long way to support the organization’s IAM lifecycle management ventures.

• Encryption: Utilize AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to manage encryption keys and ensure data is encrypted at rest and in transit across services like S3, EBS, and RDS. Additionally, bolster AWS KMS with an end-to-end non-human identities management solution like Entro to stay informed on every minute activity around your access tokens, API keys, and more.

• Logging and Monitoring: Employ AWS CloudTrail to log API calls, AWS Config to track resource changes, and Amazon CloudWatch to monitor resource performance and set alerts for unusual activity. It is always recommended to pay attention to activities performed by both human users and IAM roles associated with AWS services.

Final thoughts

We’ve discussed the key control groups and the importance of prioritizing identity management, these are essential for organizations to establish a strong foundation for SOC2 compliance in Kubernetes and AWS. However, it’s crucial to remember that compliance is an ongoing process requiring continuous monitoring, testing, and improvement to ensure the effectiveness of implemented controls. 

Does that sound like too much work? Leveraging platforms such as Entro, which discover and inventory all your secrets from everywhere, including Slack channels and GitHub repositories, and enrich them with invaluable context, will go a long way toward lightening your load.

Come, take a look at what Entro can do!