Automating ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Evidence Collection in 2026

Compliance expectations continue to rise as organisations move deeper into cloud-native architectures, adopt AI across critical functions and respond to increasing regulatory pressure. By 2026, internal and external stakeholders expect more than point-in-time audit results. They expect continuous assurance and real-time visibility into how controls operate.

For organisations preparing for ISO 27001 certification or SOC 2 attestation in 2026, the manual approach to evidence collection is no longer fit for purpose. Screenshots and spreadsheets cannot keep pace with modern infrastructure, and the cost and time involved in manual evidence gathering only increase as organisations scale.

Automated evidence collection, supported by continuous controls monitoring, has become the most effective way to meet these evolving expectations. This guide explains how organisations can automate evidence collection for ISO 27001 and SOC 2, what has changed in 2026 compared with previous years and how SureCloud helps compliance and security teams maintain year-round readiness.

By 2026, four major shifts have made automated evidence collection essential rather than optional.

1. The expansion of hybrid, multi-cloud estates

Organisations now operate across multiple cloud providers, container platforms and SaaS ecosystems. Evidence is scattered across different systems, making manual collection almost impossible to maintain reliably.

2. AI governance and model assurance expectations

Security teams are increasingly responsible for demonstrating how AI models, automated workflows and data pipelines are governed. These systems generate ongoing, high-volume evidence, which can only be captured effectively through automation.

3. Demand for continuous assurance

Customers, regulators and auditors increasingly expect ongoing compliance visibility rather than annual or biannual snapshots. Automated evidence collection supports this shift by producing a live view of control health.

4. Workforce decentralisation

Remote and hybrid working models require more rapid joiner-mover-leaver updates, more identity integrations and more frequent access checks. Manual processes simply cannot keep up.

For these reasons, automated evidence collection is a strategic capability that supports not only audit readiness but overall security posture and operational resilience.

The control frameworks for ISO 27001 and SOC 2 have grown more aligned in the last two years. With the 2022 update to ISO 27001 now fully adopted and the continued use of the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria, most organisations aiming for global assurance choose to pursue both frameworks.

Key overlapping areas include:

1. Access control

2. Change and release management

3. Logging and monitoring

4. Vulnerability and patch management

5. Supplier assurance

6. Incident response

7. Asset and configuration management

8. Governance, risk and policy management

Because so much control evidence is shared, dual-framework compliance is far more efficient when evidence is collected and mapped automatically. SureCloud’s platform enables this reuse so teams maintain a single authoritative source of truth for audits.

The advance of API-driven systems, cloud tooling and modern identity platforms means that more evidence types can be automated today than ever before.

1. Cloud posture and configuration evidence

Modern cloud environments generate highly detailed configuration and security data. Automated evidence should include:

1. Encryption settings

2. IAM and role-based access controls

3. Network and firewall rules

4. Secrets and key rotation compliance

5. Public exposure checks

6. Container and Kubernetes configuration states

7. Logging retention settings

Platforms like SureCloud connect directly to cloud providers to capture this evidence continuously and flag drift before it becomes an audit or security issue.

2. Identity and access management evidence

Identity is at the centre of every audit and every security programme. Automated evidence covers:

1. Multi-factor authentication

2. SSO enforcement

3. Admin and privileged access

4. User lifecycle events

5. Passwordless and risk-based authentication signals

6. Access reviews and recertification workflows

With the growth of Just-In-Time access and federated identity, capturing this evidence manually is no longer realistic.

3. AI governance and operational checks

By 2026, AI has introduced new evidence requirements, including:

1. Model change approvals

2. Dataset governance

3. Access to training pipelines

4. Monitoring of automated decision workflows

5. Drift detection and risk scoring

SureCloud’s flexible controls and integrations can capture evidence from AI-related systems to support emerging regulatory and audit requirements.

4. Code, change and deployment workflows

Automation is particularly effective in engineering environments. Evidence includes:

1. Merge approvals

2. Pull request history

3. Automated test results

4. Infrastructure-as-code compliance

5. Release notes and deployment records

6. Change approvals and separation of duties

These data sources provide a clear, reliable audit trail with no manual effort.

5. HR, training and policy adherence

Evidence for human-centric controls can also be automated:

1. Training completion

2. Policy acceptance

3. Background checks

4. Role changes

5. Mandatory review cycles

HRIS and learning systems provide real-time data that can be fed directly into SureCloud to maintain compliance visibility.

6. Asset and supplier assurance

Asset inventories and vendor due diligence processes continuously change, so automation ensures:

1. New assets are automatically captured

2. Retired assets are removed

3. Supplier statuses, risks and evidence are up to date

4. Contractual and security obligations are tracked

This helps organisations maintain a complete and accurate compliance footprint.

Automated evidence collection in 2026 is a mature, reliable process built on continuous monitoring. The approach typically follows these steps.

1. Map control coverage and identify automation candidates

Not every control can be automated, but most technical controls can. Organisations start by mapping which evidence types are suitable for:

1. Full automation

2. Partial automation

3. Structured manual workflows

2. Connect systems via integrations

Systems such as cloud platforms, HR tools, identity providers, ticketing platforms and code repositories are connected to SureCloud’s platform via secure integrations.

The more integrated the environment, the more evidence is collected without human intervention.

3. Configure continuous control checks

SureCloud’s Continuous Controls Monitoring engine runs scheduled checks to identify:

1. Control failures

2. Misconfigurations

3. Missing evidence

4. Identity drift

5. High-risk changes

6. Vendor status changes

This provides ongoing assurance and reduces last-minute remediation work.

4. Centralise and map evidence across frameworks

With automated evidence flowing in, organisations maintain a single repository of evidence that can be mapped across ISO 27001, SOC 2 and any additional frameworks.

This reduces duplication and aligns with auditor expectations for consistency and integrity.

5. Generate audit-ready artefacts automatically

When evidence is collected continuously, generating reports becomes simple. SureCloud supports:

1. Audit workpapers

2. Statements of Applicability

3. SOC 2 documentation

4. Control status dashboards

5. Evidence activity logs

Audit preparation becomes a matter of reviewing and validating what is already in place.

Lower operational cost

Teams spend far less time preparing for audits, allowing them to focus on high-value security and risk activities.

Higher accuracy and auditor trust

Automated evidence is timestamped, tamper-resistant and retrieved directly from systems of record. Auditors increasingly prefer machine-collected evidence.

Year-round compliance readiness

Continuous monitoring provides a live view of compliance posture, reducing surprises during audits.

Improved security posture

Misconfigurations and access issues are discovered as they occur, not months later.

Stronger internal collaboration

Automation removes bottlenecks between teams by ensuring everyone contributes via integrations rather than ad-hoc requests.

AI and automation audit expectations are evolving

Solution: Use platforms that support flexible control definitions and evidence types so you can adapt as new regulatory expectations settle.

Legacy environments remain difficult to automate

Solution: Use a hybrid model with structured manual workflows and clear ownership so gaps are transparent and managed.

Complexity increases with scale

Solution: Prioritise integrations for critical systems first, then expand coverage with a phased roadmap.

Teams need guidance during the transition

Solution: Use platform workflows, playbooks and dashboards to guide users and reduce learning curves.

SureCloud is purpose-built for modern compliance needs. Its capabilities align with where the industry is moving:

1. Integrated Continuous Controls Monitoring

2. Automated collection of technical and non-technical evidence

3. Extensive native integrations across cloud, identity, HR, engineering and supplier systems

4. Support for ISO 27001, SOC 2 and a growing library of industry and regulatory frameworks

5. Evidence reuse across all frameworks

6. A scalable platform designed for hybrid and AI-driven businesses

7. Dashboards that provide real-time visibility into compliance posture

8. Strong workflow and automation capabilities for remediation and review cycles

SureCloud helps organisations achieve and maintain continuous compliance while strengthening security operations.

By 2026, automated evidence collection is the standard approach for organisations pursuing ISO 27001 or SOC 2. The shift to continuous monitoring, multi-cloud environments, distributed workforces and AI-driven systems has made it clear that manual processes are no longer sustainable.

Automating evidence collection delivers significant efficiency gains, reduces audit friction and provides the continuous assurance expected in 2026 and beyond.

With SureCloud’s platform, organisations can streamline compliance, reduce operational overhead and maintain control confidence throughout the year.

If you would like support implementing automated evidence collection or Continuous Controls Monitoring, the SureCloud team is ready to help.