homepage
Open menu
Go one level top
  • Train and Certify
    Train and Certify

    Immediately apply the skills and techniques learned in SANS courses, ranges, and summits

    • Overview
    • Courses
      • Overview
      • Full Course List
      • By Focus Areas
        • Cloud Security
        • Cyber Defense
        • Cybersecurity and IT Essentials
        • DFIR
        • Industrial Control Systems
        • Offensive Operations
        • Management, Legal, and Audit
      • By Skill Levels
        • New to Cyber
        • Essentials
        • Advanced
        • Expert
      • Training Formats
        • OnDemand
        • In-Person
        • Live Online
      • Course Demos
    • Training Roadmaps
      • Skills Roadmap
      • Focus Area Job Roles
        • Cyber Defence Job Roles
        • Offensive Operations Job Roles
        • DFIR Job Roles
        • Cloud Job Roles
        • ICS Job Roles
        • Leadership Job Roles
      • NICE Framework
        • Security Provisionals
        • Operate and Maintain
        • Oversee and Govern
        • Protect and Defend
        • Analyze
        • Collect and Operate
        • Investigate
        • Industrial Control Systems
    • GIAC Certifications
    • Training Events & Summits
      • Events Overview
      • Event Locations
        • Asia
        • Australia & New Zealand
        • Latin America
        • Mainland Europe
        • Middle East & Africa
        • Scandinavia
        • United Kingdom & Ireland
        • United States & Canada
      • Summits
    • OnDemand
    • Get Started in Cyber
      • Overview
      • Degree and Certificate Programs
      • Scholarships
    • Cyber Ranges
  • Manage Your Team
    Manage Your Team

    Build a world-class cyber team with our workforce development programs

    • Overview
    • Why Work with SANS
    • Group Purchasing
    • Build Your Team
      • Team Development
      • Assessments
      • Private Training
      • Hire Cyber Professionals
      • By Industry
        • Health Care
        • Industrial Control Systems Security
        • Military
    • Leadership Training
  • Security Awareness
    Security Awareness

    Increase your staff’s cyber awareness, help them change their behaviors, and reduce your organizational risk

    • Overview
    • Products & Services
      • Security Awareness Training
        • EndUser Training
        • Phishing Platform
      • Specialized
        • Developer Training
        • ICS Engineer Training
        • NERC CIP Training
        • IT Administrator
      • Risk Assessments
        • Knowledge Assessment
        • Culture Assessment
        • Behavioral Risk Assessment
    • OUCH! Newsletter
    • Career Development
      • Overview
      • Training & Courses
      • Professional Credential
    • Blog
    • Partners
    • Reports & Case Studies
  • Resources
    Resources

    Enhance your skills with access to thousands of free resources, 150+ instructor-developed tools, and the latest cybersecurity news and analysis

    • Overview
    • Webcasts
    • Free Cybersecurity Events
      • Free Events Overview
      • Summits
      • Solutions Forums
      • Community Nights
    • Content
      • Newsletters
        • NewsBites
        • @RISK
        • OUCH! Newsletter
      • Blog
      • Podcasts
      • Summit Presentations
      • Posters & Cheat Sheets
    • Research
      • White Papers
      • Security Policies
    • Tools
    • Focus Areas
      • Cyber Defense
      • Cloud Security
      • Digital Forensics & Incident Response
      • Industrial Control Systems
      • Cyber Security Leadership
      • Offensive Operations
  • Get Involved
    Get Involved

    Help keep the cyber community one step ahead of threats. Join the SANS community or begin your journey of becoming a SANS Certified Instructor today.

    • Overview
    • Join the Community
    • Work Study
    • Teach for SANS
    • CISO Network
    • Partnerships
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • About
    About

    Learn more about how SANS empowers and educates current and future cybersecurity practitioners with knowledge and skills

    • SANS
      • Overview
      • Our Founder
      • Awards
    • Instructors
      • Our Instructors
      • Full Instructor List
    • Mission
      • Our Mission
      • Diversity
      • Scholarships
    • Contact
      • Contact Customer Service
      • Contact Sales
      • Press & Media Enquiries
    • Frequent Asked Questions
    • Customer Reviews
    • Press
    • Careers
  • Contact Sales
  • SANS Sites
    • GIAC Security Certifications
    • Internet Storm Center
    • SANS Technology Institute
    • Security Awareness Training
  • Search
  • Log In
  • Join
    • Account Dashboard
    • Log Out
  1. Home >
  2. Blog >
  3. SOC for Supply Chain
370x370_AJ-Yawn_CloudSEcNext.jpg
AJ Yawn

SOC for Supply Chain

Cyber professionals should be paying close attention to the supply chain software industry.

April 6, 2022

There is a new cybersecurity framework that cybersecurity and compliance professionals should know about: SOC for Supply Chain. In 2020, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) noticed the growth in the supply chain market and developed a new Supply Chain Risk Management Reporting Framework. This new framework, SOC for Supply Chain, was designed to provide supply chain risk readiness and for organizations to communicate certain information about their manufacturing, production, or distribution system and the effectiveness of controls that mitigate supply chain risks.

The new reporting framework will look and feel extremely familiar to those that have experience with SOC 2 audits. The SOC for Supply Chain reports includes four sections just like a SOC 2 report. However, there is a new description criteria (DC 300) that outlines the criteria used to prepare and evaluate the description of manufacturers, producers, or distribution companies’ systems. In a SOC for Supply Chain examination, controls are focused on how companies can manage supply chain risks. In this blog post, we will outline why there is a focus on supply chain, a high-level overview of what SOC for Supply Chain is, and the impact of this new industry-focused compliance report.

Why the focus on Supply Chain?

Cyber professionals should be paying close attention to the supply chain software industry. In cyber or not, it’s been very difficult to ignore supply chains over the last couple of years. Whether you’ve experienced delays in your delivery of goods, shortages of products on shelves, or price increases of products you need regularly, supply chain disruption has impacted people around the world due in part to the global pandemic. Due to this increase in supply chain disruption, we’ve seen an increase in supply chain software innovation. Supply-chain technology startups raised $24.3 billion in venture funding in the first three quarters of 2021, 58% more than the full-year total for 2020, according to analytics firm PitchBook Data Inc.

Because of the increased investment in logistics technology and the digitization of supply chains, the cyber risks associated with the increased innovation are heightened. Supply chain software companies face the same cyber challenges and threats as other software companies but disruptions to these companies can have global implications. While compliance is not the answer to addressing all of these challenges, compliance assessments do provide an opportunity for companies to formally assess the risks facing their organizations. Traditionally, supply chain software companies would undergo a SOC 2, ISO 27001, or other cybersecurity assessment but these frameworks were not designed with supply chain companies, especially supply chain software companies in mind. This is where SOC for Supply Chain comes in.

What is SOC for Supply Chain?

According to the AICPA, SOC for Supply chain reports were designed “to help identify, assess, and address supply chain risks…to foster greater transparency in the supply chain…This resource helps organizations communicate certain information about the supply chain risk management efforts and assess the effectiveness of system controls that mitigate those risks.”

The SOC for Supply Chain reporting framework is laser-focused on helping organizations that are manufacturers, producers, or distribution companies evaluate the specific risks facing their organization and industry. Supply chain companies can use the reporting framework to communicate to stakeholders the processes and controls they have in place to detect, prevent, and respond to supply chain risks that may impact companies meeting their objectives. Fortunately, this new framework follows the same SSAE 18 standard as SOC 1 and SOC 2 examinations so the testing requirements, report format, and contents are very similar.

The biggest difference between a SOC 2 and SOC for Supply Chain report is going to be Section 3 or the system description. The SOC 2 description criteria (DC200) outlines nine criteria that are required to be addressed for an auditor to provide an opinion on whether or not the description is presented in accordance with the criteria. In a SOC for Supply Chain report, you’ll find different description criteria: DC 300 Description Criteria for a Description of an Entity’s Production, Manufacturing, or Distribution System in a SOC for Supply Chain Report. DC 300 outlines a common language for companies to develop and describe their supply chain risk management efforts and for CPAs to evaluate the descriptions. The 10 description criteria are below:

  • DC1: The types of goods produced, manufactured, or distributed by an entity
  • DC2: The principal product performance specifications, commitments, and requirements and production, manufacturing or distribution components and requirements (principal system objectives)
  • DC3 System incidents
  • DC4 Risks that may have a significant effect on the company’s ability to achieve its principal objectives
  • DC5 Relevant information about the system that produces, manufactures or distributes the products
  • DC6 The applicable trust services criteria and the related controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that the entity’s principal system objectives were achieved
  • DC7 Complementary Customer Controls (CCCs)
  • DC8 Complementary Supplier Controls (CSCs)
  • DC9 Specific trust services criterion that is not relevant to the system and the reason why it is not relevant
  • DC10 Significant changes to the system during the period (Type 2 reports only)

Similar to a SOC 2 report, you’ll find a management’s assertion, independent service auditor's report, and section 4 which lists out the Trust Services Criteria in scope and the controls in place to address the criteria. Section 4 uses the same criteria as SOC 2 examinations, the AICPA 2017 Trust Services Criteria for Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy (the 2017 trust services criteria or 2017 TSC) is used to document and assess controls that address applicable criteria. The audit requirements and quality standards that you’d expect in a SOC 2 examination apply here and will require the same level of scrutiny and diligence as SOC 2 audits.

Impact of this new industry-focused SOC report

Compliance professionals understand the importance of industry-focused standards such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), or Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) auditing framework and standards. These standards apply to a very niche sector and were developed to address very industry-specific risks. For example, the PCI-DSS framework is focused on credit cardholder data and all merchants and service providers that process, transmit or store cardholder data must comply with the PCI DSS.

When thinking about it from this perspective, it is kinda surprising that we have not seen a supply chain-focused report before 2020. Nonetheless, the SOC for Supply Chain report is here to help supply chain companies assess risks that are unique to the supply chain industry. Cyber security compliance professionals should become familiar with this new framework because it provides a better way for supply chain companies, specifically software companies to build trust and communicate how they are mitigating risks with customers and other interested parties.

Cybersecurity is not one size fits all and compliance frameworks fall under this umbrella. The benefits of SOC 2 reports are the flexibility and ability for companies to customize the controls to match what they are doing in their organization. This flexibility was great for supply chain SaaS companies but the description and overall SOC 2 framework didn’t provide a clear way for these companies to communicate specific risks that face supply chain companies. This new report allows companies to earn a compliance report that makes sense for their customers and is more relevant to themselves and their users.

The cybersecurity industry should always evolve with new threats and an ever-changing digital landscape. It is the perfect time for us to focus our energy and attention on the supply chain industry as an increase in digitization in this space increases the potential for catastrophic cyber events. You should not expect the supply chain software market to slow down, which is why understanding this new SOC for Supply Chain reporting framework will help compliance professionals understand how to address risks facing companies in this sector.

Additional Resources for SOC for Supply Chain

  • Illustrative SOC for Supply Chain Report
  • SOC for Supply Chain Backgrounder
  • Who is a SOC for Supply Chain report applicable to?
  • SOC for Supply Chain System Description
  • AICPA's New Examination Engagement: SOC for Supply Chain Webcast
  • AICPA Unveils New Supply Chain Risk Management Reporting Framework press release
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AJ Yawn is Co-Founder and CEO at ByteChek and a Founding Board Member of the National Association of Black Compliance and Risk Management Professionals (NABCRMP). AJ has earned 6 AWS certifications including the AWS Solutions Architect-Professional and AWS Security-Specialty. Prior to ByteChek, AJ spent over a decade in the cybersecurity industry both in the US Army and as a consultant. He is a regular speaker at SANS Cloud Security curriculum events such as BIPOC in Cloud Forum and CloudSecNext Summit, and a co-chair of the New2Cyber Summit 2022. Learn more about AJ here.

Share:
TwitterLinkedInFacebook
Copy url Url was copied to clipboard
Subscribe to SANS Newsletters
Receive curated news, vulnerabilities, & security awareness tips
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Spain
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Netherlands
Australia
India
Japan
Singapore
Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
Bosnia And Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska)
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard And McDonald Islands
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, Republic Of
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States Of
Moldova, Republic Of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Bartholemy
Saint Kitts And Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome And Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
St. Helena
St. Pierre And Miquelon
Suriname
Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad And Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks And Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis And Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

By providing this information, you agree to the processing of your personal data by SANS as described in our Privacy Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recommended Training

  • MGT414: SANS Training Program for the CISSP Certification
  • SEC540: Cloud Security and DevSecOps Automation
  • FOR585: Smartphone Forensic Analysis In-Depth

Tags:
  • Security Management, Legal, and Audit

Related Content

Blog
The_What_&_How_of_Role-Based_Training_-_Blog_Post_-_1.23.jpg
Security Management, Legal, and Audit
January 26, 2023
The What & How of Role Role-Based Training
Role-based training is playing a bigger and bigger role in the world of security awareness and managing human risk.
370x370_Lance-Spitzner.jpg
Lance Spitzner
read more
Blog
340x340_MGT-Triads.jpg
Security Management, Legal, and Audit
January 18, 2022
SANS Leadership Triads
Go Beyond Good Enough. Become A Transformational Leader or an Operational Cybersecurity Executive.
MGT_Triad_370x370_Headshot.jpg
SANS Cybersecurity Leadership
read more
Blog
Untitled_design-43.png
Digital Forensics and Incident Response, Cybersecurity and IT Essentials, Industrial Control Systems Security, Purple Team, Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), Penetration Testing and Red Teaming, Cyber Defense, Cloud Security, Security Management, Legal, and Audit
December 8, 2021
Good News: SANS Virtual Summits Will Remain FREE for the Community in 2022
They’re virtual. They’re global. They’re free.
370x370-person-placeholder.png
Emily Blades
read more
  • Register to Learn
  • Courses
  • Certifications
  • Degree Programs
  • Cyber Ranges
  • Job Tools
  • Security Policy Project
  • Posters & Cheat Sheets
  • White Papers
  • Focus Areas
  • Cyber Defense
  • Cloud Security
  • Cybersecurity Leadership
  • Digital Forensics
  • Industrial Control Systems
  • Offensive Operations
Subscribe to SANS Newsletters
Receive curated news, vulnerabilities, & security awareness tips
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Spain
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Netherlands
Australia
India
Japan
Singapore
Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
Bosnia And Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska)
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard And McDonald Islands
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, Republic Of
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States Of
Moldova, Republic Of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Bartholemy
Saint Kitts And Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome And Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
St. Helena
St. Pierre And Miquelon
Suriname
Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad And Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks And Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis And Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

By providing this information, you agree to the processing of your personal data by SANS as described in our Privacy Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
  • © 2023 SANS™ Institute
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn