A request for proposal has just come out that is in your company’s wheelhouse but instead of only requiring HIPAA and SOC 2, the proposal suggests that those who are HITRUST® compliant either receive more consideration or may be the only proposals considered at all. What happens now? Are you prepared? Do you know what […]
IT Audit & Compliance Blog
The Linford & Company Blog is written by our very own auditors, who are experts in IT audits, information security, and compliance topics. Their auditing experience encompasses a broad spectrum of industries and organizations, and their specialized expertise can help your company or organization make the right decision for your auditing needs. Our specific areas of focus in our IT Audit & Compliance Blog include SOC 1 Audits, SOC 2 Audits, HIPAA Audits, HITRUST Certification, and FedRAMP Assessments, NIST & CMMC, and Penetration Testing.
Security Maturity Models: Common Levels of Maturity & How They’re Evaluated
With an ever-changing landscape of security threats and available tools and resources, it is important for organizations to periodically evaluate their security maturity and seek to make improvements to maintain a well-balanced security posture. Throughout this blog, we will explore the concept of the capability maturity model with a focus on security maturity in an […]
SOC 2 in Healthcare: Why Do Soc Reports Matter for Audit Compliance?
An audit is intended to build trust, decrease risk and encourage efficiency in business practices. While these traits are important for all businesses, they are critical for entities within the healthcare industry. No company is immune to risk, but those in the healthcare industry have a higher inherent risk based on the types of data […]
Key AWS Monitoring Tools for Security & Audit Compliance – An Auditor’s Perspective
The cloud computing on-demand model of compute power, database, storage, applications, and other IT resources accomplishes a variety of tasks. It reduces barriers, creates flexibility, and increases speed to market. The benefits of the cloud mean that organizations must seriously consider the cloud to perform business. Whether your organization is new to the cloud or […]
SOC 2 vs SOC 3 Reports: What is the Difference?
When deciding what kind of SOC report your service organization needs or what kind of report to request from your service organization, the options can be a little confusing. Especially when considering whether you need a SOC 2 vs a SOC 3 report. Many of our clients ask us what a SOC 3 report is, […]
What is Operational Risk Management? Expert Guidance for Managing Risk
What is operational risk management? And why is operational risk important? Simply defined, operational risk management is a continual process performed to identify and manage the risks inherent to running a business. Risk is fundamental to operating a business, and all businesses have to manage risk of all types, ranging from financial to operational to […]
Cloud Security Compliance Audits: Are You Audit Ready?
The requirement for cloud security audits for applications and infrastructure running within cloud environments has, at this point, become second nature to the industry. It is often a milestone needed to raise funding or in the expansion of clients. This article will define cloud compliance audits, outline the objectives and scope of a cloud audit, […]
What are HITRUST® Correction Action Plans (CAPs)? Answers to Common Questions
Following months of hard work, you and your External HITRUST® Assessor finally “complete” the assessment and the assessment dashboard now displays 100% of requirements under the “External Assessor Review Complete” status – now what? For most Assessed Entities, that phase is followed by formulating CAPs for requirement statements as part of a control reference required […]
Data Retention Policy: What is it & How Does it Relate to a SOC 2?
Data has become a valuable resource for organizations across the world, and large amounts of data are being collected every day. At the same time, there has been an increase in or emphasis on the laws and regulations aimed at providing safeguards for data collected. A tool that can be used to help manage data […]
What are the SEC’s Proposed Rules on Cybersecurity Risk Management?
The number of cybersecurity incidents continues to rise. This upsurge in frequency and complexity has also resulted in an increase in costs. According to IBM’s 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average total cost of a data breach is USD $4.35 million, 83% of organizations studied have had more than one data breach, […]













