BrightLine Demonstrates Industry Leadership as First CPA Firm Accredited as a CSA Star Certification Assessor

TAMPA, FL--(Marketwired - April 03, 2014) - BrightLine CPAs & Associates, Inc., a leading provider of compliance and attestation reporting services, is pleased to announce that it is the first CPA accredited as a Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Security, Trust & Assurance Registry (STAR) certification assessor. To achieve this designation, BrightLine, an accredited ISO 27001 certification body by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), successfully underwent an evaluation process of their competencies applicable to auditing against the Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM). With this accreditation, BrightLine is the only service provider in the world that is a licensed CPA firm, a PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) company, an ISO 27001 certification body, a FedRAMP 3PAO, and a CSA STAR certification assessor.

The CSA STAR certification is a rigorous third party independent assessment of the security of cloud service provider (CSPs). The technology-neutral certification leverages the management system requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001 standard with the CSA CCM, a specified set of criteria across multiple control domains specific to issues that are critical to cloud security. Organizations that outsource services to CSPs have a number of concerns about the security of their data and information. By achieving the STAR certification, CSPs of every size will be able to give prospective and current customers greater assurance regarding their acceptance of and adherence to the CCM.

"Major CSPs will fully understand the importance of achieving CSA STAR certification. This certification provides further assurance to customers and will allow CSPs to differentiate themselves amongst their peers," stated Ryan Mackie, CSA STAR Practice Leader from BrightLine. "Moreover, becoming a CSA STAR assessor was a critical component of becoming the only service provider in the world where CSPs can obtain a suite of assessment services using a single third party assessor." 

With the ability to certify CSPs against the CSA STAR Certification program, BrightLine can provide assurance through an independent third party assessment of the maturity of the CSPs' controls specific to the CCM. In addition to the benefits of being registered as a STAR certified CSP, the assessment that BrightLine performs can highlight areas where an organization may wish to improve and also can help ensure that the CCM does not become the minimum requirement and highlights what best in class performance is like.

Inquiries for CSA STAR certification services can be made with BrightLine at 866-254-0000 or further information can be found at www.brightline.com/STAR

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ABOUT BRIGHTLINE

BrightLine CPAs & Associates, Inc. is a global provider of assurance and compliance services. As one of the only companies in the world fully accredited to provide a suite of services that includes SSAE 16 (SOC 1) examinations, SOC 2 Examinations, PCI DSS compliance validation, ISO 27001 certification, and FedRAMP authorization, BrightLine offers clients the unique opportunity to achieve multiple compliance objectives through a single third party assessor. For further information, please visit www.BrightLine.com.