Financial ServicesApex Financial Group

From Zero to SOC 2 Certified in 90 Days

Time to certification

90 days

Apex Financial Group

THE CHALLENGE

A growing fintech company with 85 employees needed SOC 2 Type II certification to close enterprise deals, but had no formal security program, no dedicated security team, and a 90-day deadline from their largest prospect. Their technology stack spanned three cloud providers with dozens of SaaS integrations, none of which had been assessed for security controls. Previous attempts to hire a full-time CISO had failed due to the competitive talent market, and the company was at risk of losing a $2.4M contract that would define their growth trajectory.

OUR SOLUTION

Threat Contain deployed a vCISO and a three-person compliance team to build their security program from the ground up. We conducted a rapid gap analysis, implemented core technical controls including endpoint protection, log aggregation, and access management across all cloud environments, created comprehensive policy documentation aligned to the AICPA Trust Services Criteria, and deployed continuous monitoring tools. Our team managed the entire audit preparation process, serving as the primary interface with the external auditors and ensuring evidence collection was complete and well-organized.

1

Gap Assessment & Scoping

Conducted a comprehensive gap assessment against SOC 2 Type II trust service criteria. Identified 34 control gaps across access management, change management, incident response, and data protection. Prioritized by audit risk and implementation effort.

2

Policy & Documentation Framework

Built a complete information security policy framework including 12 core policies, standard operating procedures, and an employee security handbook. All documentation was practical and auditor-ready — not template boilerplate.

3

Technical Controls Deployment

Deployed endpoint detection and response (EDR), centralized logging via SIEM, MFA across all systems, encrypted backups, and automated vulnerability scanning. Each tool was selected for cost-effectiveness and audit evidence generation.

4

vCISO Leadership & Audit Preparation

Our vCISO served as the security executive sponsor, presenting to the board, managing the auditor relationship, and conducting two mock audits. The team was fully prepared before the real audit began.

THE RESULTS

  • Achieved SOC 2 Type II certification on the first attempt with zero critical findings
  • Closed a $2.4M enterprise contract that required certification as a prerequisite
  • Built a sustainable, scalable security program with documented policies and automated controls
  • Reduced cyber insurance premiums by 35% through demonstrable security controls

KEY METRICS

90 days

Time to certification

0 critical

Audit findings

$2.4M

Revenue unlocked

35%

Insurance savings

127

Controls implemented

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

We went from zero security program to SOC 2 certified in 90 days. Our largest prospect told us they had never seen a company move that fast. Threat Contain did not just get us certified — they built a security program we are genuinely proud of.
DP

David Park

CTO, Apex Financial Group

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