A.8.23 Web filtering
The organization is to manage which external websites can be reached, so that exposure to malicious content falls. Purpose (stated in ISO/IEC 27002:2022): keeps malware off systems and blocks unauthorized web resources. As an Annex A reference control, it is compared with the controls determined in risk treatment (6.1.3 c) and recorded in the Statement of Applicability as included or excluded, with the justification and implementation status (6.1.3 d); implementation guidance is ISO/IEC 27002:2022 8.23.
Source: ISO/IEC 27001:2022, A.8.23. 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 ISO/IEC 27001:2022 in the compliance library.
Clauses 4 to 10 are the management-system requirements: none of them can be excluded when an organisation claims conformity. The 93 Annex A controls are a reference set: one may be excluded with a justification in the Statement of Applicability. Certification bodies assess conformity; the evidence lists here are what auditors commonly ask for, not a list the standard prescribes.
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
- Current rules on safe, proper use of online resources · Cloud console / configuration management
- Web filtering or secure web gateway configuration showing blocked categories such as malicious, phishing, command and control, illegal content and upload sites · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
none for this control
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
- Statement of Applicability entry for control A.8.23, showing inclusion or justified exclusion, implementation status and the risks it treats · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Integration of threat intelligence feeds into block lists · Document repository
- The exception request and approval process with records of approved exceptions · Document repository
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- Filtering applies only on the office network, not to remote workers
- Upload and file-sharing sites are open to all users without a business reason
- Users routinely click through browser security warnings
- Block lists are static and not updated from threat intelligence
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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