BARR is 1 of only A Handful of Firms in the U.S. Eligible to Perform Audits Against ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and HITRUST

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BARR Advisory is proud to say we are one of only a handful of firms in the U.S. eligible to perform audits against all four highest regarded frameworks: ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and HITRUST. But what does that mean exactly? And how can organizations use BARR to help them leverage existing frameworks to boost their security posture? Let’s take an in-depth look into this statistic.

ISO, SOC, HITRUST, and PCI DSS—What’s the Difference?

These four frameworks ultimately help organizations improve their security posture. However, each of them differ throughout the engagement process and their final deliverables.

ISO 27001 is a globally accepted standard that defines the requirements of an ISMS. ISO 27001 certification from an accredited certification body such as BARR means an organization has demonstrated adherence to those requirements.

SOC 2 examinations report on one or any combination of the AICPA’s trust services criteria, including security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. It demonstrates an organization’s commitment to its consumer requirements and cybersecurity best practices.

HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) was developed in collaboration with healthcare and information security professionals to provide a prescriptive framework to simplify security requirements. It is the most widely adopted security framework in the U.S. healthcare industry.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) applies to all entities that store, process, and/or transmit cardholder data. If your organization accepts or processes payment cards, you must comply with PCI DSS. Depending on your organization’s needs, BARR’s PCI DSS compliance solutions include PCI DSS reports on compliance (RoC), PCI DSS attestations of compliance (AoC), and QSA-assisted self-assessment questionnaires (SAQs).

Leveraging HITRUST for ISO 27001

As an external assessor, BARR can complete all the necessary tasks and data collection processes for both HITRUST and ISO 27001 audits. At the same time, if an organization has already achieved a HITRUST certification, it’s easy to map the controls that are already in place to ISO 27001 requirements, especially when the assessment data already exists and is immediately available in the MyCSF portal.

Since ISO 27001 auditors aren’t able to provide guidance on how to fix issues or mitigate gaps, HITRUST can serve as a risk assessment for the ISO 27001 audit. If your organization has HITRUST in place already, your external assessor can help by providing expert guidance and feedback on how to close any identified gaps ahead of time. This can help avoid potential nonconformities during your ISO 27001 audit.

In addition to ISO 27001, a HITRUST certification can help satisfy the requirements of other assessments like SOC 2. The AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria align with the HITRUST CSF criteria, which allows BARR to issue SOC 2 plus HITRUST in a collaborative reporting model.

SOC 2 and ISO 27001—The Perfect Combination

While the two frameworks cover similar topics, one big difference between ISO and SOC assessments is that certain standards can be certified under the ISO 27001 series, while SOC 2 audits result in an attestation report rather than a certification.

Additionally, as an internationally accepted standard, ISO 27001 is great for organizations that serve clients abroad. SOC 2 uses the U.S.-based AICPA Trust Services Criteria to meet the needs of a broad range of users who require detailed information and assurance about a service organization’s control design and implementation.

BARR can leverage your SOC 2 report to include ISO controls and vice versa. This means organizations seeking ISO 27001 certification and a SOC 2 audit now have a unified team of auditors to perform both assessments. Having both not only increases consumer trust, but also enhances your brand. You’ll stand out as an organization that takes security seriously while instilling the most confidence in your clients.

Achieve PCI DSS Compliance Seamlessly

As your partner and a Qualified Security Assessor, BARR will walk you through each step of the way to help you achieve PCI DSS compliance. With our four-phase PCI DSS proven process, we help organizations prepare for and successfully achieve compliance seamlessly.

BARR’s proven process includes planning, assessment, reporting, and issuance. This means your organization will demonstrate its commitment to data security and ensure its ongoing compliance with the global standard.

Benefits of BARR’s Coordinated Audit Approach

Organizations that choose to leverage one framework to accomplish another receive many benefits. Not only does this prove your organization’s commitment to security and compliance, but this process allows for an “audit once, report many” approach, which reduces the amount of resources organizations are required to delegate.