Postmortem software security: SOC 2, GDPR guide for SREs

The post-mortem problem in incident management highlights the critical need for robust security measures to protect sensitive data, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and system failure details, which are often exposed during incident retrospectives. Organizations should implement stringent encryption standards, such as AES-256 for data at rest and TLS 1.2+ for data in transit, and ensure compliance with core security standards like SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. GDPR compliance is essential, particularly for international data transfers and the "Right to be Forgotten," which poses challenges when PII is inadvertently shared in logs. Purpose-built platforms like incident.io prioritize security while maintaining usability, offering features such as private incidents, SAML/SCIM integration, and zero-retention AI policies. These platforms also provide comprehensive access controls and immutable audit logs to enhance security and facilitate compliance. Engaging CISOs early in the evaluation process and using detailed checklists can help organizations select incident management tools that effectively balance collaboration with stringent data protection measures.