Have you ever been browsing through the different selections at a grocery store and decided to go with the one labeled “farm fresh”? Maybe you wanted to be an ethical shopper and selected a package that was marked “responsibly sourced” even though it cost a few dollars more than a competing brand.

The dirty little secret about terms like “farm fresh,” “responsibly sourced,” “multi-grain,” and even “all-natural” is that they are almost meaningless. Food producers can define those terms however they like, and while they sound good to the consumer, in reality the products are no different than the cheaper alternatives on the shelf.

Data Security Claims

Don’t fall into the same trap when  evaluating data security! It’s very easy for a service provider to claim that they handle your data in a secure manner, protecting it from hackers and accidental exposure. But when you think about it, that claim leaves it up to the organization to decide what critical words like “secure” and “protect” actually mean. If you trust that company with your data, you’re assuming their definition aligns with yours when you talk about data security…without any independent verification.

Look For Verification

Service providers that fall short on data security are great at making it look like they are serious, using strong marketing. Their website may show photos of rows of servers behind locked doors, bold claims about defending your data, and even sleek badges that use impressive numbers like “100%,” “5 stars,” or “millions of files.” But if no independent verification is visible, those claims hold little real value beyond marketing. 

SOC II Certification

This is where a certification like SOC II comes in. The acronym stands for “System and Organization Controls,” and it represents a framework of data security standards set by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, or AICPA. The AICPA defines best practices for organizations that handle sensitive data, and sets guidelines for how an organization must demonstrate compliance with those best practices.

There are two different types of SOC II certification. Type 1 is based on a point in time assessment of the organization’s data security captured by an independent auditor. A service provider with this certification shows that, at the time of review, they had adequate data security practices in place.

SOC II Type 2 certification provides a higher level of assurance to potential clients that a service provider maintains those best practices long-term. It requires ongoing monitoring and periodic audits. If an organization neglects certain practices or allows its digital firewalls and other defenses to fall out of date, they will fail and lose their Type 2 certification.

Spectra’s Data Security Certification

When you browse the Spectra website, you’ll find that our claims about data security are not empty bluster. Our facility is SOC II Type 2 certified, with independent auditors regularly conducting inspections, penetration tests, and other exercises to verify our practices. 

In practical terms, this means that you can be confident that the Spectra team is actually following through on the protections many providers only promise. Critical data security measures include:

• Firewalled networks that are continuously updated with the latest patches and defenses against viruses, ransomware, and other tools that hackers use to get into networks and steal data
• Strict handling of physical data with paper documents secured from public view and destroyed securely when no longer needed.
• Controlled access to sensitive data, with paper documents, such as digital mailing lists, ensuring only authorized employees working on a specific project can view it.
• Providing ongoing training to employees about how to protect their usernames, passwords, and other information. Even seemingly innocent activity on social media could give hackers an opportunity to use an employee’s information to get into the network at their workplace. We ensure that every Spectra team member knows what information to keep private. 
• Ongoing employee training, reinforcing best practices for protecting credentials, and preventing social engineering risks

What’s Really At Risk

No organization wants to think about what the fallout would be of a data security breach. If hackers make it into a hard drive and steal files, or if a network management mistake leads to information being publicly visible on the Internet, the responsible organization must follow up with mitigation efforts, notification to those affected or potentially affected by the breach, and other actions that are costly and distract from the organization’s core mission.

Preventing these incidents is essential for any company that intends to build and maintain trust with its customers and business partners. Some organizations never fully recover from a data security breach due to the financial impact and reputational damage.

Extending Your Business’s Data Security Reach

Your organization may have a very solid data security protocol in place, but when you partner with a service provider for print, distribution, and other tasks, it is critical to ensure your partners meet the same standards to keep private data secure. A data breach involving a third party  provider can still expose your customers’ information to hackers, and those customers will ultimately hold your organization responsible for the damage.

At Spectra, we are well aware of the importance of data security in today’s interconnected economy, and we value the confidence that our clients place in us when they entrust address lists, patient health information, and other sensitive data to our team for projects. 

Our SOC II Type 2 certification and full HIPAA compliance, combined with decades of dependable service, reinforce our commitment to protecting client data and maintaining the highest industry standards in the print and distribution field. Contact our team today to learn how we can support your data security needs.