# BSI C5:2020 DEV-03 — Policies for changes to information systems

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/dev-03-policies-for-changes-to-information-systems
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [BSI C5:2020 (Cloud Computing Compliance Criteria)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020) › Development & Change Management (DEV)
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**BSI C5:2020**·Criterion `DEV-03`·high·Component: **Development & Change Management**

## What this control requires

> Documents change management policies per SP-01, specifying risk assessment, testing, approvals, and customer notification. Enforces segregation of duties and documentation to ensure secure updates, protecting cloud customer data from errors.
> 
> — BSI C5:2020, Criterion DEV-03

### In plain English

Documents change management policies per SP-01, specifying risk assessment, testing, approvals, and customer notification. In practice, this means you can prove you information cloud customer data-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

BSI C5 is the default cloud-security baseline German public-sector buyers and many DAX-listed enterprises expect; gaps here directly block procurement in the DACH region and frequently appear as must-have items in EU public-tender documents.

This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

## What an auditor looks for

A C5 attesting auditor (under ISAE 3000 / IDW PS 860) tests both the design and — for a Type 2 — the operating effectiveness over the attestation period. For each criterion they look for both the Basic and any in-scope Additional objectives.

Within **Development & Change Management**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion DEV-03) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Incident Response

**Runbook.** Maintain a runbook keyed by incident type with named roles (IC, comms, scribe), an out-of-band comms channel, and a 72-hour timeline for external notification.

**Tabletop.** Run a quarterly tabletop exercise (ransomware, insider, supply-chain) and feed gaps back into the runbook.

#### Policy Management

**Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA.

#### Cloud Posture

**CSPM.** Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold.

### Operational checklist

-   **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Segregation.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Risk.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Documentation,.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** cloud customer data, development, changes, management.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Ticketing Workflow.** `ticketing_workflow` evidence
-   **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.
-   **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings.

Workflow metrics (ServiceNow, Jira) show approvals and remediation. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Policies for changes to information systems.

## Common pitfalls

-   Runbooks that name a role but no person, or list a paging channel that no longer exists.
-   Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.
-   Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why.

## How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

-   [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.11** — Return of assets](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-11-return-of-assets)
-   [**CIS Controls v8 11.2** — Perform Automated Backups](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/11-2-perform-automated-backups)
-   [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC3.4** — Change Identification](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc3-4-change-identification)

## Related controls in BSI C5:2020

-   [**Criterion DEV-09** — Approvals for provision in the production environment](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/dev-09-approvals-for-provision-in-the-production-environment)
-   [**Criterion DEV-04** — Safety training and awareness programme regarding continuous software delivery and associated systems, components or tools.](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/dev-04-safety-training-and-awareness-programme-regarding-continuous-software-delivery-and)
-   [**Criterion AM-04** — Decommissioning of Hardware](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/am-04-decommissioning-of-hardware)
-   [**Criterion HR-02** — Employment terms and conditions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/hr-02-employment-terms-and-conditions)
-   [**Criterion PI-01** — Documentation and safety of input and output interfaces](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/pi-01-documentation-and-safety-of-input-and-output-interfaces)
-   [**Criterion COM-01** — Identification of applicable legal, regulatory, self-imposed or contractual requirements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/com-01-identification-of-applicable-legal-regulatory-self-imposed-or-contractual)

## References

-   [Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) — BSI C5:2020](https://www.bsi.bund.de/EN/Topics/CloudComputing/Compliance_Criteria_Catalogue/Compliance_Criteria_Catalogue_node.html)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Criterion DEV-03`

Topics: governance riskchange managementincident responsepolicy managementcloud posture

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.
