𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆)

This is the core requirement of every SOC 2 report. It ensures your systems are protected against unauthorized access, both physical and digital.

Think of this as the lock on your digital front door — firewalls, MFA, access controls, intrusion detection, and encryption all fall here.

Without this, there’s no trust.

𝟮. 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝗻

It’s not just about being secure — it’s about being available when your users need you, and the ability to bounce back from a failure.

This criterion assesses uptime, performance monitoring, disaster recovery, and how well you maintain SLAs.

𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗜𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Are systems processing data correctly and completely? This principle ensures transactions and operations are accurate, valid, timely, and authorized.

It’s especially relevant for financial tech, logistics, analytics, or any app where the output must match the input without errors or manipulation.

𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱

Not all data is equal. Confidentiality ensures that sensitive business or customer information is only accessible to those who need it. Encryption at rest, data classification, and strong access control policies live here.

𝟱. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘆 – 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹While confidentiality is about business data, privacy is about personal data. This criterion aligns with data protection laws (like GDPR, CCPA, or the Australian Privacy Act) and ensures you:

a. Collect data with consent.

b. Limit usage to intended purposes.

c. Allow for deletion/retention policies.

d. Disclose your data practices clearly.

This is critical if you're handling PII, PHI, or customer-facing applications.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲?

1. Security is always required.

2. The rest are optional, based on your services and customer expectations. For example, a SaaS HR platform might include Security, Availability, Confidentiality, and Privacy, while a data processing vendor may focus more on Processing Integrity.

𝗜𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆:

The Trust Services Criteria are pillars of operational maturity, risk management, and customer trust.

Include more criteria to make your service more resilient and credible.

If you're on the road to SOC 2 compliance, start by mapping your current controls to these five areas.