Category: Control Types and Framework

Communication and Information

Simply put

Communication and Information refers to how an organization gathers, uses, and shares the information needed to support its internal controls, both within the organization and with outside parties. The provided evidence does not contain authoritative material specific to this term as it is used in SOC 2 or ISO 27001 frameworks, so the description here is necessarily general and should not be treated as a framework-specific definition.

Formal definition

In control frameworks, Communication and Information typically concerns the generation and use of relevant, quality information and the internal and external communication of objectives, responsibilities, and control-related matters. However, the evidence supplied consists only of general-purpose sources on communication and information technology and contains no material describing this term's specific role within the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria or ISO/IEC 27001 requirements. As a result, a precise practitioner-level definition grounded in either framework cannot be provided from this evidence; the term should be confirmed against the applicable AICPA Trust Services Criteria or ISO 27001 documentation before use.

Why it matters

Communication and Information is generally understood as an element of internal control that addresses how an organization obtains, produces, and shares the information required for its control environment to function, both internally among personnel and externally with parties such as customers, vendors, and regulators. In the context of a control framework, weak communication of objectives, responsibilities, and control-related matters can undermine even well-designed controls, because staff and third parties cannot act on information they never receive or understand. This makes the flow of relevant, quality information a foundational rather than peripheral concern.

It is important to be candid about the limits of the evidence supplied for this entry. The sources available are general-purpose references on communication and information technology and do not contain authoritative material describing how "Communication and Information" is defined or applied within the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria or the ISO/IEC 27001 requirements. As a result, this entry cannot assert framework-specific requirements, control objectives, or criteria mappings, and no incident examples or statistics can be responsibly attributed here.

Practitioners should therefore treat the description in this entry as general context only. Before relying on this term for audit, attestation, or certification decisions, confirm its precise meaning against the applicable AICPA Trust Services Criteria documentation (for SOC 2) or the relevant ISO/IEC 27001 clauses and Annex A reference controls, depending on which framework is in scope.

Who it's relevant to

SOC 2 practitioners and compliance managers

Those preparing for or maintaining a SOC 2 examination may encounter this term in relation to the Trust Services Criteria, but should confirm its exact meaning and associated criteria against the current AICPA Trust Services Criteria documentation, since the evidence here does not provide a framework-specific definition. A SOC 2 report attests only to the controls and period covered and does not guarantee freedom from breaches.

ISO/IEC 27001 implementers and auditors

Professionals building or auditing an information security management system should verify how communication-related requirements are expressed in the ISO/IEC 27001 clauses and Annex A reference controls, noting that Annex A was restructured in the 2022 revision and that control selection is driven by risk assessment and the Statement of Applicability. An ISO 27001 certificate covers only the defined scope of the ISMS.

GRC and internal control teams

Teams responsible for governance, risk, and control frameworks may find the general concept useful when considering how objectives, responsibilities, and control information flow internally and externally. However, they should not treat the general descriptions in this entry as a substitute for the authoritative framework definitions, and should recognize that satisfying one framework does not automatically satisfy another, as mapping between SOC 2 and ISO 27001 is only partial.

Inside Communication and Information

Internal Communication

The processes by which an organization communicates information, including objectives and responsibilities for controls, internally so that personnel understand and carry out their roles. In SOC 2, this relates to how the Common Criteria addressing communication support the functioning of internal control.

External Communication

The processes for communicating relevant information with external parties such as customers, vendors, and other stakeholders regarding matters affecting the functioning of internal control, including how the organization communicates its commitments and system requirements.

Information Quality

The generation and use of relevant, quality information to support the functioning of internal control. This includes ensuring information is complete, accurate, accessible, and timely enough to support control activities.

Relationship to the Trust Services Criteria

In a SOC 2 examination, communication and information are addressed within the Security category (the Common Criteria), which is the only required Trust Services Criteria category. The specific criteria and points of focus applied depend on the scope set during the engagement.

Relationship to ISO 27001

Under ISO/IEC 27001, communication requirements are addressed within the ISMS requirements in clauses 4 through 10, which typically require an organization to determine the need for internal and external communications relevant to the information security management system. Related reference controls may be selected from Annex A via the Statement of Applicability.

Common questions

Answers to the questions practitioners most commonly ask about Communication and Information.

Is Communication and Information a control category unique to SOC 2?

No. Communication and Information corresponds to one of the COSO-based components reflected in the Common Criteria of the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria. It should not be conflated with an ISO 27001 Annex A control grouping. While ISO 27001 addresses communication and documented information within its ISMS requirements, the two frameworks structure these concepts differently, and mapping between them is partial rather than exact.

Does satisfying Communication and Information criteria in a SOC 2 examination mean the equivalent ISO 27001 requirements are also met?

Not automatically. Although themes such as internal and external communication and information quality appear in both frameworks, satisfying the SOC 2 Common Criteria in this area does not by itself demonstrate conformity with ISO 27001's communication and documented information requirements in clauses 4 through 10. Any correspondence is partial, and each framework must be assessed on its own terms and scope.

What kinds of evidence typically demonstrate Communication and Information criteria in a SOC 2 Type II examination?

In most engagements, evidence may include internal communications such as policy distributions, security awareness materials, and management reporting, alongside external communications to relevant parties. For a Type II report, the auditor typically examines whether these communication processes operated effectively over the defined review period, rather than at a single point in time. The specific evidence expected depends on the scope, the auditor, and the controls in place.

How should an organization communicate its objectives and control responsibilities to personnel?

Organizations commonly document objectives, policies, and role responsibilities and communicate them through onboarding, training, and periodic reminders, depending on scope. The intent is that personnel understand their responsibilities relevant to security and any other selected Trust Services categories. The particular methods and cadence vary by organization and are evaluated against the criteria by the CPA firm performing the examination.

What external communication considerations are relevant to these criteria?

External communication typically involves informing relevant external parties of matters affecting the functioning of controls, which may include commitments to customers, incident notification processes, and channels for external parties to report issues. The precise expectations depend on the applicable criteria and the defined scope of the examination, so approaches vary across engagements.

Do the Communication and Information criteria guarantee that no breaches or communication failures will occur?

No. A SOC 2 report attests only to the controls and the period covered and does not guarantee freedom from breaches or communication failures. These criteria address whether relevant information is identified and communicated to support the functioning of controls; they do not assure that every communication was effective in all circumstances outside the scope and period examined.

Common misconceptions

Communication and Information is a standalone Trust Services Criteria category that can be selected or excluded during SOC 2 scoping.

It is not a separate optional category. In a SOC 2 examination, communication and information considerations are addressed within the Security category (the Common Criteria), which is required rather than optional. The optional categories are Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.

The communication requirements in SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are equivalent, so meeting one automatically satisfies the other.

Mapping between the two frameworks is possible but partial. SOC 2 addresses communication through the Common Criteria under an AICPA SSAE 18 attestation examination, while ISO 27001 addresses it within its ISMS requirements clauses. Satisfying one framework does not automatically satisfy the other, since the criteria, evidence expectations, and outcomes differ.

Demonstrating strong communication and information controls guarantees the organization is free from security incidents.

A SOC 2 report attests only to the controls and the period covered and does not guarantee freedom from breaches. Similarly, an ISO 27001 certificate covers only the defined scope of the ISMS. Effective communication supports internal control but does not eliminate risk.

Best practices

Document how objectives and control responsibilities are communicated to internal personnel, so that individuals understand their roles in operating and maintaining controls.

Establish and document channels for external communication with customers, vendors, and other stakeholders regarding commitments and matters affecting internal control.

Assess whether the information used to support control activities is relevant and of sufficient quality, considering completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and accessibility, and retain evidence of this for the examination period.

In an ISO 27001 context, determine and document what needs to be communicated, when, with whom, and by whom, in line with the ISMS requirements in clauses 4 through 10.

When pursuing both SOC 2 and ISO 27001, map communication-related controls between the frameworks carefully, recognizing the overlap is partial and each has distinct evidence and scoping expectations.

Tailor communication controls to the defined scope of the engagement or ISMS, and clearly state what is out of scope, since applicable criteria and depth depend on scoping decisions set with the auditor or certification body.