BSI C5:2020 OPS-04 — Protection Against Malware - Concept

What this control requires

Documents malware protection policies per SP-01, specifying system-specific mechanisms and protection programs for CSP and employee devices. Ensures robust defenses against viruses and malware, safeguarding cloud customer data integrity and availability.

In plain English

Documents malware protection policies per SP-01, specifying system-specific mechanisms and protection programs for CSP and employee devices. In practice, this means you can prove you risk protection-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 Operations Security, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion OPS-04) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

How to implement

Cloud Posture

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

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.

Operational checklist

• Risk. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Security. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Protection. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Data. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Policy. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Scope: protection, against malware - concept, cloud customer data, mechanisms, management.

Evidence to collect

• 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.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Protection Against Malware - Concept.

Common pitfalls

• Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why.
• Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.

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.

• NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.13.15 — Session Authenticity
• GDPR Article 72 — Procedure
• NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AC-4(5) — Embedded Data Types

Related controls in BSI C5:2020

• Criterion OPS-05 — Protection Against Malware - Implementation
• Criterion OPS-18 — Managing Vulnerabilities, Malfunctions and Errors - Concept
• Criterion OPS-22 — Testing and Documentation of known Vulnerabilities
• Criterion OPS-10 — Logging and Monitoring - Concept
• Criterion AM-06 — Asset Classification and Labelling
• Criterion HR-02 — Employment terms and conditions

References

• Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) — BSI C5:2020
• Catalogue identifier: Criterion OPS-04

Topics: governance riskcloud posturepolicy management