CSA STAR Programs

Recognizing assurance requirements and maturity levels of cloud service providers (CSPs).

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Why the CSA STAR Programs?

STAR Program is a publicly available registry designed to recognize assurance requirements and maturity levels of cloud service providers (CSPs). Prior to issuing the guidance for STAR Certification and STAR Attestation, a CSP could only perform a self-assessment, which meant completing the Consensus Assessments Initiative questionnaire (CAIQ) and making the responses publicly available on the CSA Register.

Certification The CSA STAR Certification is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP that leverages the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (ISO 27001) management system standard together with the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) version 3.0.1. In order to achieve the STAR Certification, a CSP must already have an active ISO 27001 certification or have the STAR Certification assessment performed in tandem with an ISO 27001 certification review.
Attestation The CSA STAR Attestation is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP. CSA STAR Attestation is a collaboration between the CSA and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to provide guidance for CPA firms (or service auditors) to conduct STAR Attestations using criteria from the AICPA Trust Services Principles (TSP) and the Cloud Control Matrix (CCM). This assessment utilizes the SOC 2 framework to report on the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of a CSP’s controls relevant to the applicable TSPs (which include Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy) and the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of its controls in meeting the criteria in the CSA CCM.

Certification or Attestation?

Schellman is the only firm that can offer both CSA STAR Certification and Attestation services to CSPs allowing companies to decrease internal costs and increase efficiencies.

Certification The CSA STAR Certification is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP that leverages the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (ISO 27001) management system standard together with the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) version 3.0.1. In order to achieve the STAR Certification, a CSP must already have an active ISO 27001 certification or have the STAR Certification assessment performed in tandem with an ISO 27001 certification review.
Attestation The CSA STAR Attestation is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP. CSA STAR Attestation is a collaboration between the CSA and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to provide guidance for CPA firms (or service auditors) to conduct STAR Attestations using criteria from the AICPA Trust Services Principles (TSP) and the Cloud Control Matrix (CCM). This assessment utilizes the SOC 2 framework to report on the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of a CSP’s controls relevant to the applicable TSPs (which include Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy) and the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of its controls in meeting the criteria in the CSA CCM.

Our Process

We begin each project with your end goals in mind and to provide preparation for future key project activities. Effective communication and timely coordination of project planning activities are central to our methodology with our clients.

Planning

After the agreement is executed, the first phase of the engagement is planning. This is to ensure that Schellman and the Client are fully aware of the what, who, when, why, and how prior to the beginning of testing.

Proper planning is imperative to the success of a project. Schellman has standard processes to cover the important pieces of the engagement.

Understanding and Kickoff

The kickoff is considered the start of the engagement. If needed, Schellman will schedule a call at the beginning of, or just prior to, the kickoff to finalize any outstanding items. Schellman will be available to the client with any questions.

By including communication prior to starting, Schellman ensures that no last-minute changes to the project or team have occurred and the Client has the plan prior to the testing and on-site visit.

Testing and Gathering

Testing and gathering is the core of the compliance engagement. Due to the planning and understanding processes, this phase will be an accumulation of gathering the evidence needed for the objectives discussed.

Schellman has a no surprise policy and has daily contact with the stakeholders during the testing and gathering activities. Furthermore, Schellman will begin documentation of the draft deliverable to be able to provide it to the Client efficiently after this phase. The Client will have confidence the Schellman team has completed this phase timely and completely.

Reporting

Schellman’s testing methodology ends with reporting, but the entire assessment is focused on creating a deliverable that is clear, concise, and accurate.

Schellman’s report takes into account the entire process and customizes a report for each Client. The draft report will be provided within 2 weeks of the last day of testing and gathering phase, and a final report will be provided within 30 days. This timing is unsurpassed by the industry.

Case Studies

Discover how our process has helped leading organizations successfully achieve their objectives in compliance:

Wrike achieves remote audit success with communication and preparation

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CDS differentiates business with ISO 27001 certification

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Iron Mountain uses a single assessor for agile expansion

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Your CSA STAR Attestation Specialist, Debbie Zaller

Debbie is a Principal at Schellman. She leads the Midwest Region along with the Privacy, SOC 2 and SOC 3 service lines and is also on the AICPA’s SOC Specialist Task Force. As Privacy Practice Leader, she serves as the firm’s subject matter expert for APEC certifications.

Meet Debbie Message Debbie

Fixed-Fee Using an outcome-based, fixed-fee pricing model based on our extensive experience
Scope Creep We see less than 5% of our clients that see amendments and are often the result of a scope expansion
Low Overhead Low overhead means a flexible financial structure

Learn more about our pricing process

How much will your audit cost?

Whether it is an ISO 27001 certification, SOC 2 examination or a FedRAMP assessment, companies are often challenged by the need to address customer requirements while ensuring a return on compliance investment.

The most important factor in scoping a potential assessment is understanding what deliverable the recipient (i.e. your customer or partner) is expecting.

Once we have scoped your environment and needs, there are several factors that contribute to Schellman’s pricing:

Fixed-Fee Using an outcome-based, fixed-fee pricing model based on our extensive experience
Scope Creep We see less than 5% of our clients that see amendments and are often the result of a scope expansion
Low Overhead Low overhead means a flexible financial structure

Learn more about our pricing process

CSA STAR Programs

Recognizing assurance requirements and maturity levels of cloud service providers (CSPs).

Why the CSA STAR Programs?

Certification or Attestation?

Schellman is the only firm that can offer both CSA STAR Certification and Attestation services to CSPs allowing companies to decrease internal costs and increase efficiencies.

Our Process

Planning

Understanding and Kickoff

Testing and Gathering

Reporting

Case Studies

Wrike Case Study

Complete Discovery Source

Iron Mountain

Your CSA STAR Attestation Specialist, Debbie Zaller

Debbie is a Principal at Schellman. She leads the Midwest Region along with the Privacy, SOC 2 and SOC 3 service lines and is also on the AICPA’s SOC Specialist Task Force. As Privacy Practice Leader, she serves as the firm’s subject matter expert for APEC certifications.

How much will your audit cost?

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Contact Us

Fill out this form to talk with one of our specialists. We'll be in touch soon to continue the conversation and help you find what you're looking for.