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Product Security Sync - 2

A. Certifications Available in the Market (Audited, Formal Certificates)

  • SOC 2 Type II – U.S. SaaS trust standard, most common in procurement. Overview
  • ISO/IEC 27001 – International information security certification.
  • ISO/IEC 27701 – Privacy management (extension of ISO 27001).
  • FedRAMP Moderate – Required for U.S. federal agencies (very costly).
  • CMMC Level 2 – Required for Department of Defense vendors.
  • PCI DSS – Payment card security. Usually handled by Stripe/DOKU, but we must complete SAQ A (light version).
  • CSA STAR Certification – Cloud security certification, optional but globally recognized.

B. Frameworks & Compliance Standards (Best Practices / Non-Certifying)

  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) – U.S. gov-favored baseline.
  • NIST SP 800-53 – Detailed control set for gov/regulated contracts.
  • CCPA/CPRA (California) – Mandatory if handling CA consumer data.
  • GDPR (EU) – Needed if expanding internationally.
  • CJIS Security Policy – For law enforcement data (utilities + police integrations).

C. Which Ones We Need (Prioritized for SMART360)

Required / High Value (near-term):

  • SOC 2 Type II – Directly impacts U.S. utility/enterprise sales.
  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) – Provides a recognized U.S. baseline for risk management. We can align with this in parallel with SOC 2 since much of the work overlaps.
  • CCPA/CPRA Compliance – Mandatory for California users.
  • PCI DSS SAQ A – Light self-assessment since Stripe/DOKU handle payments.

Future (medium-term / strategic):

  • ISO/IEC 27001 – Expands global credibility.
  • ISO/IEC 27701 – Adds privacy governance.

Conditional (only if customer requires):

  • FedRAMP, CMMC – Only if federal/DOD clients (very costly).
  • GDPR – Only when EU expansion starts.
  • CSA STAR – Optional badge for marketing.
  • NIST SP 800-53 – Only if specifically required by U.S. government/regulated customers.

Overlap Benefit:

  • SOC 2 covers ~70–80% of ISO 27001, ~50% of NIST CSF, and aligns with CCPA/CPRA.

D. Third-Party Integrations – What We Expect from Them

Any SaaS or infra vendor we use must meet minimum baseline security:

  • SOC 2 Type II (preferred) or ISO/IEC 27001.
  • PCI DSS Level 1 (if processing payments, e.g., Stripe/DOKU).
  • GDPR & CCPA/CPRA compliance for analytics / customer data (e.g., PostHog, Workday).

[Detailed Document : (pending)]

E. Vendor Selection


Accreditation Requirement
  • Audit Firm: The SOC 2 audit must be performed by a licensed CPA firm accredited by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants).
  • Vendors (Vanta, Secureframe, Drata, etc.): These are compliance automation platforms, not auditors. They simplify evidence collection, monitoring, and readiness.
  • Final Deliverable: The SOC 2 report is always issued by an independent AICPA-accredited audit firm (the vendor usually partners with them).
Timeline
  • Gap Analysis: Duration depends on current security maturity.
  • SOC 2 Type II: Requires a 3–12 month observation window (controls must be tested over time), then ~2–4 weeks for the audit report.
  • Exact timeline only clear after the gap analysis.
Use of AI / Automation
  • Automation: Vendors provide integrations with AWS, GCP, Azure, Jira, GitHub, etc. to continuously monitor controls and collect evidence.
  • GenAI: Limited use cases today—mainly for: (the vendors may charge extra for this, not clear from the plans)
    • Policy drafting (templates & tailoring)
    • Mapping controls to frameworks
    • Vendor risk review (e.g., reading SOC reports of sub-processors)
  • Audit still human-led: AI does not replace the accredited auditor’s work.
Costs (Year 1 and Renewal)
  • Platform subscription (Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, etc.): ~$8k–$15k/year (depending on size, integrations, frameworks).
  • Audit cost (CPA firm): ~$10k–$20k/year (SOC 2 Type I is cheaper; Type II more expensive).
  • Total first-year spend: ~$18k–$35k (platform + audit).
  • Renewal: Similar annual spend (since SOC 2 Type II requires ongoing audits + subscription).
Deliverables
  • SOC 2 Report (Type I or Type II): The only official proof of certification, issued by an AICPA-accredited CPA firm.
  • Public use: SOC 2 reports contain sensitive details. Best practice is not to share publicly. Instead:
    • Provide under NDA via security portal (e.g., Drata Trust Center, Vanta Trust Center).
    • Share a SOC 3 report (summary version) if you want a public attestation.
  • What customers see: Usually a “We are SOC 2 Type II certified” statement on your site + the option to request the report.
Software & Evidence Tracking
  • Platforms (Vanta, Secureframe, Drata, etc.) act as a compliance OS, integrating with:
    • Cloud infra (AWS, GCP, Azure)
    • DevOps (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
    • Ticketing (Jira, Linear) -> Plane in our case
    • HR systems (BambooHR, Rippling) -> Keka in our case
  • They continuously collect & store evidence for the auditor, reducing manual effort.
Vendor Costs & Case Studies
  • Most platforms start at ~$8k–$10k/year for early-stage startups.
  • Each vendor publicly lists customer logos and SOC 2 case studies (examples: Vanta → Notion, Lattice, Quora; Drata → Fivetran, Lemonade; Secureframe → AngelList, Lob).


What certs and frameworks the vendors offer -

vendors provide automation, templates, and auditor partnerships.

  • Vanta – SOC2, ISO27001/27017, PCI DSS, NIST CSF, NIST 800, FedRamp, AWS FTR, OFDSS, NIST AI RMF, NIS 2, CMMC, CJIS, TISAX,GDPR, HIPPA, CCPA/CPRA, ISO27701/27018, USDP (AI : https://www.vanta.com/products/ai))
  • Sprinto – SOC 2, ISO 27001,GDPR,HIPAA,PCI DSS,CMMC 2.0,NIST frameworks (e.g., controls implementation), ISO 27017, CIS, CSA STAR, FCRA, OFDSS, CCPA (AI : https://secureframe.com/features/ai)
  • Drata – SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, PCI DSS, ISO 27701, CSA STAR. (AI: https://youtu.be/RgTTp9f9pwE )
  • Scytale – SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, NIST CSF, CMMC. (AI: http://scytale.ai/ai-agent/)
  • Scrut- 60+ Frameworks including SOC, ISO, NIST

Detailed : https://bookstack.bynry.com/books/common-Aj3/page/compliance-vendors


F. Certification Costs

Audit Costs (independent of vendor subscription):

  • SOC 2 Type II Audit: ~$15k–$20k (one-time, yearly renewal).
  • ISO 27001 Certification Audit: ~$20k–$30k.
  • PCI DSS SAQ A: Self-attestation, minimal cost
  • FedRAMP / CMMC: $200k+ (not relevant for us now).

Vendor Subscriptions (automation tools):

  • Sprinto: $12k–$18k/year (+ audit fee).
  • Vanta: $10k–$25k/year (+ audit fee).
  • Drata: $15k–$25k/year (+ audit fee).
  • Scytale: Pricing not public, but estimated $10k–$20k/year (+ audit fee).
  • Scrut : Pricing unclear

Detailed Comparison : https://bookstack.bynry.com/books/common-Aj3/page/compliance-vendors

G. Infrastructure Cost Impact (SOC 2 Prep) [Based on self assessment of work involved]

SOC 2 is about “say what you do, do what you say, and prove it.” -> We have total control following the TSC criteria and outlining the requirements. So we can have a better control over the infra costs.
The following calcs were done by considering "industry best practices"

Baseline Today: ~$640/month.

  • Minimal SOC 2 setup: +$416–$521 → $1,056–$1,161/month.
  • With Cross-Region DR: +$566–$701 → $1,206–$1,341/month.
  • Optional heavy add-on: AWS Shield Advanced $3k/month (only if contractually required).

https://bookstack.bynry.com/books/soc-ii/page/costs-monthly

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