Critical Asset Controls
AssetsControl Statement
The organization has identified its critical technology assets and has implemented appropriate controls to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability. The controls are regularly reviewed and tested.
Description
Critical technology assets underpin the organization's most important business processes, data, and services. This control requires a systematic approach to identifying which technology assets are critical (based on their role in supporting essential business functions, the sensitivity of data they process, and the impact of their compromise or unavailability), implementing controls that protect their confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and ensuring those controls remain effective through regular review and testing. Without this discipline, organizations risk under-protecting their most valuable assets while potentially over-investing in lower-priority areas.
Key Implementation Activities
- 1 Identify and maintain an inventory of critical technology assets based on business impact analysis, data classification, and dependency mapping
- 2 Implement layered controls addressing confidentiality (encryption, access controls), integrity (change management, integrity monitoring), and availability (redundancy, backup, disaster recovery) for each critical asset
- 3 Establish a regular review cycle to assess whether controls remain appropriate given changes in the threat landscape, technology environment, and business requirements
- 4 Conduct periodic testing of controls through vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, disaster recovery exercises, and control effectiveness reviews
- 5 Maintain documentation linking critical assets to their assigned controls, risk owners, and testing schedules
Evidence Examples
- Critical asset inventory with classification, business impact ratings, and assigned risk owners
- Control mapping documentation showing protective controls assigned to each critical asset across CIA dimensions
- Control review records demonstrating regular assessment of control appropriateness and effectiveness
- Testing results (vulnerability scans, penetration test reports, DR test results) for critical asset controls
- Remediation tracking for control deficiencies identified through review and testing activities
Maturity Levels
Critical assets are informally recognized but not systematically identified or classified. Controls are inconsistently applied and rarely tested. No formal linkage between asset criticality and control depth.
Critical assets are formally identified, classified, and inventoried. Controls addressing CIA are implemented and mapped to assets. Regular review and testing cycles are established and documented.
Continuous monitoring provides real-time visibility into critical asset control effectiveness. Testing is automated where feasible and includes adversarial simulation. Control investment is dynamically adjusted based on threat intelligence and asset criticality changes.
Document Templates
Evidence Requirements View all evidence
| Type | Evidence Item | Frequency | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document | Critical asset inventory with classification, business impact ratings, and risk owners | Reviewed semi-annually | Required |
| Document | Control mapping documentation showing CIA controls assigned to each critical asset | Reviewed annually | Required |
| Document | Critical asset identification criteria and classification methodology | Reviewed annually | Required |
| Record | Control review records demonstrating regular assessment of control effectiveness | Per review schedule | Required |
| Record | Testing results: vulnerability scans, penetration tests, DR tests for critical assets | Per test schedule | Required |
| Record | Remediation tracking for control deficiencies identified through review and testing | Per finding | Required |
| Record | Annual control effectiveness summary reported to executive governance | Annually | Expected |