What is Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2)?

SOC 2 refers to a framework for evaluating and reporting on the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of data processed by service organizations, such as cloud service providers and data centers. SOC 2 compliance is assessed through an audit conducted by a third-party organization, and it provides assurance to customers and stakeholders that the service organization meets established security and privacy standards.