EvidenceSheet
ACSC Essential Eight Maturity Model (November 2023) · Application control

APP-ISM-1657 Application control restricts the execution of executables, software libraries, scripts, installers, compiled…

Application control restricts the execution of executables, software libraries, scripts, installers, compiled HTML, HTML applications and control panel applets to an organisation-approved set. Required at Maturity Levels One, Two and Three of the Application control mitigation strategy (Appendices A, B and C); ISM control ISM-1657 in ASD's Essential Eight to ISM mapping (December 2023).

Source: ACSC Essential Eight Maturity Model (November 2023), APP-ISM-1657. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open ACSC Essential Eight Maturity Model (November 2023) in the compliance library.

Each row is an ISM control the maturity model requires, with the maturity levels named in its text. Pick your target maturity level and use the rows for it.

2
artefacts
0
held by a system
1
at each review
hard
to go live
Policy repository / GRC workspace
where the evidence lives
teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

none for this control

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Test results for each file type · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Approved set covering executables, software libraries, scripts, installers, compiled HTML, HTML applications and control panel applets · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

No system holds this evidence for you: it is people and documents. Reminders and routing to the owner still save time. Put the document under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a record with reviewer and date.

Common gaps auditors find

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

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APP-ISM-1656 Application control is implemented on non-internet-facing servers · APP-ISM-1658 Application control restricts the execution of drivers to an organisation-approved set