Fix vague control language that triggers SOC2/SOX audit findings#139
Open
BipinRimal314 wants to merge 1 commit intostrongdm:masterfrom
Open
Fix vague control language that triggers SOC2/SOX audit findings#139BipinRimal314 wants to merge 1 commit intostrongdm:masterfrom
BipinRimal314 wants to merge 1 commit intostrongdm:masterfrom
Conversation
5597552 to
2ae8490
Compare
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
SOC2 policy templates exist so companies can adopt them and pass audits. But several templates contain language that auditors will flag as insufficient under specific Trust Services Criteria.
I ran these templates through a deterministic compliance doc linter with regulation-traceable rules. Four files produced findings:
availability.md — "proper controls" appears 3 times. SOX Section 404 (AS 2201) requires control descriptions to be specific and testable. An auditor reading "proper controls" will ask: which controls? Reviewed how often? By whom? This language forces every adopter to rewrite it before their audit.
application.md — Risk levels (High/Medium/Low) are used in the vulnerability section but reference OWASP externally without restating the criteria in-policy. SOC2 CC3.2 requires risk assessments with defined scoring criteria. Added inline criteria summary so the policy stands alone.
encryption.md — "appropriate access control mechanisms" in the key protection clause. SOC2 CC6.1 requires documented access controls with defined authorization criteria. Replaced with specific mechanisms.
confidentiality.md — "appropriate privileges" used without reference to a classification scheme. SOC2 C1.1 requires formal data classification. Added cross-reference to the Data Classification Policy already mentioned elsewhere in the repo.
Each change replaces a vague qualifier with specific, testable language. The templates remain generic enough for any organization to customize, but now they won't trigger the most common audit findings on first read.
These findings were identified using deterministic regex-based linting rules, each traceable to a regulation paragraph.