Evaluating SOC 2 Type II Reports as a Cybersecurity Engineer

It is important to understand that data is a key element of modern society, the lifeblood of business data in the present era. As such, cybersecurity executives are required to shift from being technical to strategic advisors.

In my view, SOC 2 Type II is an important tool for measuring vendor risk and operational resiliency. Their worth is achieved only in the context of risk-driven decisioning, especially in an enterprise where compliance, integrity of data, and trust are of supreme essence.

This article offers a step-by-step approach to assess a SOC 2 Type II report and extract the insights needed to advise executive leadership effectively.

Why the SOC 2 Type II reports more important?

Not like SOC 2 Type I, which captures a point-in-time snapshot (valuable if you just want to know if controls exist), SOC 2 Type II reports evaluate control effectiveness over time — typically six to twelve months.

For data-driven organisations, this duration is a critical factor. This will tell you whether security and operational controls protecting customer data, data transaction systems, and data are operating consistently without errors.

Now the Step-by-Step Evaluating Process

1. First understand the Scope

First before anything on the type II report, understand and clarify what’s in the scope.

• Which systems were audited?
• Were there any cloud services, specific APIs or specific geographical locations included?
• Which TSC (Trust Service Criteria) were covered (e.g., Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, Privacy)?

Tip: Security should always be included. For financial data, Confidentiality and Processing Integrity are also critical.

2. Find the auditor reputation

Reputation is the key. SOC 2 audits are allowed only to be carried out by a licensed CPA (Certified Public Accountant) firm or agency approved by the AICPA.

But the SOC 2 report can be issued by Big Four firms:

• Deloitte
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
• Ernst & Young (EY)
• KPMG

Or a respected AICPA-registered auditor carries more weight than one from an unknown provider. This will give us better quality information from the report.

Ask as a question — would this report hold up under regulatory or board scrutiny?

3. Analyse the Management Assertion

This section reveals how transparent and accountable the vendor’s organization is.

If there are carve-outs or exclusions (like a third-party processor or backup system used), they should raise flags — especially if they touch financial data.

4. Review Auditor’s Opinion

The most important section:

• Unqualified (Clean): No material control failures
• Qualified: Some exceptions, limited in scope
• Adverse or Disclaimer: Red flags; usually a deal-breaker

This will tell you — Can we trust the environment this vendor/system operates in?

5. Examine Control been Tested & What Are the Exceptions

This is where technical due diligence comes in. Focus on the controls:

• What are data encryption standards used
• Enforcing access control and MFA
• How the Logging and SIEM integrations with other tools works
• How change management works
• Incident response readiness

Any control exceptions should be mapped to impact on data confidentiality or availability.

6. Check the Findings with the Business Risk

Tip: Don’t treat all exceptions equally.

As an example, a missing antivirus log isn’t the same as a failure in change management for production systems.

So classify findings into:

• Compliance risk
• Financial exposure
• Operational disruption
• Reputational damage

This mapping helps prioritize remediation and communicate risks clearly to your leaders.

7. Recommend a Risk-Based Action Plan

Based on the review, prepare your report with an action plan to:

• Continue with confidence
• Monitor with conditions
• Require remediation
• Terminate engagement or limit system scope

Include recommendations for condition clauses (e.g., audit rights, remediation SLAs) in third-party agreements.

8. Document for Executive Consumption

Lastly, if you’re reviewing this for your organisation, create a one-pager or slide that highlights:

• Key report findings
• Exceptions that impact financial data
• Compliance implications
• Your recommendation

This aligns cybersecurity with business outcomes and helps executives make fast, informed decisions.

Here is a template you can use when evaluating a report:
SOC 2 Type II Evaluation Template

Conclusion

Working in cybersecurity doesn’t limit our responsibility in defending systems but also to shape business decisions. A structured approach to SOC 2 Type II evaluation ensures that our financial data stays protected, compliant, and resilient — no matter who’s running the backend.

Vendor Risk Management