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.
Blockchain technology is changing the way businesses around the world operate and provide services. Blockchain is currently most known for its association with cryptocurrencies, most notably, Bitcoin. The use of blockchain extends beyond cryptocurrencies as use cases flourish and major companies invest in blockchain technology. With new integrations and solutions in development, blockchain will disrupt [...]
Section 5, the unaudited section, of the SOC 2 report can vary significantly between reports. It may contain a lot of details about the service organization or it may only contain a response from management for a deficiency. So what can go in this section? There are various topics that can be included that can [...]
Service organization management and the service auditor each have specific responsibilities in a SOC 2 examination. This blog describes the service auditor’s responsibilities, including the preconditions of engagement acceptance and the importance of understanding the terms of the engagement with management. If you are a service organization looking for a new service auditor, client acceptance [...]
Over the last year, the world saw a number of major security breaches in the news. Some notable ones include the SolarWinds attack, Colonial Pipeline Hack, and JBS U.S. Beef plant attack. Unfortunately, attacks are nothing new. Other major attacks over the years have included the Equifax data breach, Uber data breach, and WannaCry cyber [...]
In today’s world, great importance and attention are placed on personal privacy and, importantly, privacy over an individual’s personal information and data. The highly electronically connected world and easy availability of information on the internet and through information sharing between organizations raise the concern as to how individuals’ personal information and data are protected. There [...]
Ever wonder what an auditor means when they say they’d like to get to know your entity and its control environment? Through this blog, we walk through why this topic is important to an auditor, what the procedures are to understand the entity and its environment, and how this information is used in compiling a [...]
When preparing for a SOC report (SOC 1 or SOC 2) examination, when the inclusive method is decided upon to represent the subservice providers, there are impacts to the report that a service provider and service auditor must be aware of. There are multiple changes that are required to be made to the standard AICPA [...]
What is inherent risk and control risk and how do they relate to a SOC 2 audit? Inherent risk occurs due to the nature of the service provided and operation of the Company without consideration of any controls in place. Control risk is present as a result of the internal controls in place at the [...]
NIST 800-53, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, PCI, HITRUST, HIPAA, SOC 1, SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA…who needs another compliance framework? It’s an acronym soup, and who can keep them all straight anyway? I’m here to make the case that you may just have room for one more – the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), particularly if you’re seeking SOC [...]
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