Does Your Vendor Take Telematics Data Security Seriously? Here’s Why SOC 2 (Type 2) Compliance Matters.

We’re all doing business in an increasingly regulated environment. Unless meeting regulatory requirements is part of your job description, it’s easy to tune out the many acronyms that are now giving executives headaches. But if you’re in the market for a vendor that takes telematics data security seriously, there’s one regulatory buzzword you’ll want to make sure you don’t ignore: SOC 2 compliance.

SOC 2 compliance verifies that a company is providing adequate protection for its clients’ data. You might assume that, considering the number of high-profile data breaches we’ve seen lately, companies are already taking every precaution to ensure that they won’t be victimized next. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Too many companies are still rolling the dice, hence the need for third-party validation in this area.

Gridline recently achieved SOC 2, Type 2 compliance. Here’s why that matters to you and your business when it comes to telematics data security.

Inside SOC 2 Certification

There’s no panacea for data theft, ransomware, malware, and the like. These attacks are becoming more and more frequent, and they’re costing businesses millions.

All we can do to prevent these attacks is to put robust controls in place. Of course, one company’s idea of “robust controls” may not match another’s. That’s why the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) developed the auditing procedure for SOC 2 certification. This procedure is designed to verify that companies have established responsible, secure methods of handling client data.

Simply looking for a vendor that has achieved SOC 2 compliance is not enough, though. There are two levels of certification:

• Type 1 certification confirms that a company has established appropriate processes and systems for protecting client data. The auditing process is relatively brief and essentially assesses a snapshot of how controls looked on the day of the audit. Companies can get results in just weeks and provide their clients with some peace of mind about the security of their data.
• Type 2 certification is a longer, more stringent process. Auditors not only confirm that the controls are appropriate, but also test these controls over several months—or even one year. Companies that have earned Type II certification haven’t just come up with a design that should work—they’ve demonstrated that it does work.

While Type 1 certification is a good start, Type 2 can give you a whole new level of confidence. In our cloud-driven age, you can understand why it’s essential not to take chances with a vendor that hasn’t demonstrated the effectiveness of its data security controls, especially when it comes to telematics data security.

Ask Us About Our SOC 2-Compliant Solutions

As you use Gridline Analytics, vast amounts of your company’s historical information will flow through the solution so that it can uncover previously hidden patterns and correlations. That includes data from your Geotab telematics, Lytx camera, and driver safety system. All of this data will be stored in the cloud. From day one of Gridline, we’ve taken telematics data security of our clients’ data as seriously as we take our own data security.

Achieving SOC 2 Type 2 compliance doesn’t mean Gridline has suddenly implemented a higher level of security — it’s a confirmation of the extremely high level we’ve maintained all along. We are glad to be able to provide you with telematics and analytics solutions that not only provides robust features, but also give you reassurance that your data will be safe with us. Find out more about our highly secure telematics analytics solution.