P6.5·high·Component: PrivacyWhat this control requires
The entity obtains commitments from vendors and other third parties with access to personal information to notify the entity in the event of actual or suspected unauthorized disclosures of personal information. Such notifications are reported to appropriate personnel and acted on in accordance with established incident-response procedures to meet the entity's objectives related to privacy.
In plain English
The entity obtains commitments from vendors and other third parties with access to personal information to notify the entity in the event of actual or suspected unauthorized disclosures of personal information. In practice, this means you can prove you information objectives-level controls on a defined cadence.
Why it matters
Every SOC 2 audit opinion is built control-by-control from the Trust Services Criteria. A missing or failing criterion produces an exception in the report, which buyers, partners and procurement teams read line-by-line during vendor reviews.
This control is rated high. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.
What an auditor looks for
A SOC 2 auditor (under AT-C §§ 105/205) tests both design and operating effectiveness over the audit window. For each criterion they expect a written control, a control owner, a population of events, and a sample tested against the population — including remediation tickets for exceptions.
Within Privacy, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion P6.5) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.
How to implement
Incident Response
Runbook. Maintain a runbook keyed by incident type with named roles (IC, comms, scribe), an out-of-band comms channel, and a 72-hour timeline for external notification.
Tabletop. Run a quarterly tabletop exercise (ransomware, insider, supply-chain) and feed gaps back into the runbook.
Operational checklist
- Information. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
- Risk. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
- Access. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
- Incident. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
- Security. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
- Scope: objectives, response, management, breach notification commitments.
Evidence to collect
- Vendor Risk Management.
vendor_risk_managementevidence - Policy Document. A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.
Third-party risk management evidence (assessments, contracts, due diligence) shows supplier oversight. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Third-Party Breach Notification Commitments (Original component: Privacy).
Common pitfalls
- Runbooks that name a role but no person, or list a paging channel that no longer exists.
How it maps to other frameworks
Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.
- CIS Controls v8 15.4 — Ensure Service Provider Contracts Include Security Requirements
- BSI C5:2020 PS-01 — Physical Security and Environmental Control Requirements
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 MA-3(1) — Inspect Tools
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.19 — Information security in supplier relationships
- ISO/IEC 27701:2025 A.2.5.5 — Notification of requests
Related controls in SOC 2 (2017 TSC)
- Criterion P6.4 — Third-Party Privacy Commitments
- Criterion P6.1 — Third-Party Disclosure with Data Subject Consent
- Criterion P6.6 — Breach and Incident Notification to Stakeholders
- Criterion P3.1 — Personal Information Collection Aligned with Privacy Objectives
- Criterion P6.3 — Logging and Retention of Unauthorized Disclosure Incidents
- Criterion P8.1 — Inquiry and Complaint Management Process
References
- AICPA / ASEC — SOC 2 (2017 TSC)
- Catalogue identifier:
Criterion P6.5
Topics: governance riskvendor riskvendor managementincident responseprivacy managementsupply chain security