SOC 2 Evidence Pack
SOC 2 Evidence for Incident Response: What to Collect
Incident response evidence shows how you detect, triage, and communicate security events.
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What auditors look for
Auditors want to see design and operating effectiveness for this area—clear owners, repeatable processes, and evidence that the control works over time.
Evidence checklist
- •Incident response plan and roles
- •Runbooks for common scenarios
- •Tabletop exercise records and outcomes
- •Incident tickets with timelines and communications
- •Post-incident reviews and action items
- •On-call rotation and escalation paths
- •Communication templates for customers/partners
- •Links to logging/monitoring evidence used in incidents
- •Evidence of containment and recovery steps
- •Lessons learned tracking and verification
Common mistakes to avoid
- •No proof of exercises or testing
- •Gaps in communication plans
- •Missing action item follow-up
- •Unclear roles during incidents
- •Lack of linkage between alerts and incidents
How to produce evidence quickly
- Keep an updated IR plan with owners and contact paths.
- Document at least one recent tabletop and outcomes.
- Provide a sanitized incident ticket showing timeline and actions.
- Track lessons learned and show completed follow-ups.
- Store evidence with dates and owners for reuse.
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FAQ
Do we need real incident evidence?
If available, sanitize and share. Otherwise, provide tabletop exercises and runbooks.
How often should we run exercises?
At least annually; quarterly is better for high-risk teams.
Who should be on the IR team?
Security, engineering, IT, communications, and leadership. Define roles and backups.
How do we show communication readiness?
Provide templates, contact trees, and evidence of past stakeholder updates.
Do we need customer notifications?
If applicable, document thresholds and examples. Keep templates ready.
How do we connect alerts to incidents?
Include alert references in incident tickets and track handoffs from detection to response.
Disclaimer: Compliance costs and timelines are estimates based on market benchmarks (AICPA fee surveys, vendor pricing indices 2025). Actual auditor fees and internal effort will vary based on your specific control environment, system complexity, and auditor selection. Consult with a qualified CPA for a formal statement of work.