A.5.36 Compliance with policies, rules and standards for information security
Regularly check that people actually comply with the security policies, rules and standards.
12
artefacts
1
held by a system
3
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
system holds itEvidence a system already holds
- Electronic acknowledgment logs from HR system · SIEM / log platform
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
- Annual attestation records for contractors · HR system / LMS
- Automated compliance monitoring dashboard screenshots · SIEM / log platform
- Periodic compliance metrics report to senior management · SIEM / log platform
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
- Internal audit report on policy compliance () · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Audit checklist for information security policy adherence · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Findings and corrective action plan from latest compliance audit · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Signed employee acknowledgment forms for security policy · HR system / LMS
- Documented security policy exception requests and approvals · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Exception register with status and remediation dates · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Management approval emails for policy deviations · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Log analysis report showing policy violation incidents · Policy repository / GRC workspace
First move
Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your SIEM / log platform on a schedule; put the documents under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a dated record with a named reviewer.
Common gaps auditors find
- Irregular or ad-hoc compliance checks
- Missing evidence of employee acknowledgment
- No formal process for policy exceptions
- Reliance on self-reported compliance without independent verification
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.
Build my evidence sheetA.5.35 Independent review of information security · A.5.37 Documented operating procedures