Outrider, an autonomous yard operations technology company, recently announced it has received its System and Organization Controls 2 Type 2 (SOC 2 Type 2) report. The report verifies the effectiveness of its security controls over the past year. The industry-first attestation was completed following an audit conducted by Prescient Security, a leader in compliance and security in the business-to-business software-as-a-service space.
The SOC 2 Type 2 certification was developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to evaluate an organization’s information security practices over time. What makes the certification important is that it’s often used in technology or software as a service to show a company can protect customer data, manage risks and ensure reliability.
The certification ensures Outrider’s policies, governance and controls meet the same security and compliance standards as those for logistics-dependent Fortune 500 companies. An added benefit, especially in the autonomous space, is raising awareness for cybersecurity protections for the software-powered virtual drivers that pilot autonomous vehicles.
“As cyber threats become more frequent and sophisticated, enterprises need assurance that AI-powered logistics systems are built with security at their core,” Bob Hall, chief operating officer at Outrider, said in a press release.
Outrider implemented comprehensive security measures, including threat detection services, multi-region failover capabilities and secure software development practices, to protect critical autonomous functions like obstacle detection and braking.
“While security and compliance for indoor warehouse automation are well established, the emerging category of industrial-grade autonomous systems for use outdoors, adjacent to logistics facilities, introduces yet another set of data security concerns to address. By securing SOC 2 Type 2 certification, Outrider has now done the work to provide data security for autonomous yard operations,” Hall added.
To maintain its certification, Outrider must undergo annual audits conducted by an accredited external auditor, demonstrating ongoing compliance with security requirements established by the AICPA.
“Secure is safe, and safe is secure—especially in a landscape where new threats appear by the minute,” explained John Stein, head of IT operations at Outrider. “Security is about the cloud; safety is about the autonomous vehicle. The two together give enterprise CISOs the confidence to deploy Outrider autonomous vehicles and scale with us.”
The move comes amid growing momentum from Outrider over the past year. This includes its TÜV SÜD safety review and a $62 million Series D funding round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with additional investments from 8VC, ARK Invest, B37 Ventures, FM Capital, Interwoven Ventures, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm) and Prologis Ventures.
Outrider has raised more than $250 million in equity capital to date. The company notes that since 2019, Outrider’s customers represent more than 20% of all North American yard trucks in operation. Outrider continues to test its products and conduct pilot programs.
