CIS Controls v8·Control 1.1·critical·Component: Identify

What this control requires

Maintain a current inventory of all enterprise assets that store/process data--including end-user (portable/mobile), network, IoT, and server devices. Record each asset's static network address, MAC, machine name, owner, department, and network approval status. Use MDM for mobile devices where appropriate. Include assets connected physically, virtually, remotely, or via cloud--even if not fully controlled. Update the inventory at least every six months.
— CIS Controls v8, Control 1.1

In plain English

Maintain a current inventory of all enterprise assets that store/process data--including end-user (portable/mobile), network, IoT, and server devices. In practice, this means you can prove you establish and maintain end user-level controls on a defined cadence.

Why it matters

The CIS Controls are an industry-vetted, prioritised defence: skipping a safeguard widens the attack surface that the safeguards above and below it assume is closed. Audit frameworks (FedRAMP, PCI DSS, HIPAA) all cite CIS as evidence of due care.

This control is rated critical in the source catalogue. Treat gaps here as production incidents in the risk register, not housekeeping.

What an auditor looks for

A CIS-aligned reviewer wants to see (a) which Implementation Group you are targeting, (b) a documented owner for the safeguard, and (c) a tooling or process artefact (config, scan output, ticket) that proves the safeguard runs on the cadence the control demands.

Within Identify, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control 1.1) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

How to implement

Endpoint Protection

MDM. Make MDM enrollment a hard gate for device access (Intune compliance + Conditional Access, or Jamf + Okta device trust). Unmanaged devices simply don't get a session token.

EDR. Deploy CrowdStrike / SentinelOne / Defender for Endpoint to every server and laptop; alert on any host that stops sending telemetry for >24h.

Asset Inventory

AWS. AWS Config Aggregator across every account + region gives a real-time inventory; ship the daily snapshot to S3 and surface drift in Security Hub.

Azure. Azure Resource Graph plus Defender for Cloud's inventory blade enumerates every subscription; export to Log Analytics for retention and Workbooks for reporting.

GCP. Cloud Asset Inventory exports a daily feed of every resource and IAM binding; query via BigQuery and alert on appearance/disappearance.

Endpoints. Pipe MDM telemetry (Intune / Jamf / Workspace ONE) into your CMDB so laptops and phones are inventoried with the same rigour as cloud resources.

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

  • Establish And Maintain. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Address. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Scope: end user, portable, mobile, network, iot, server devices, virtually, remotely.

Evidence to collect

  • User Device Scan. MDM compliance state per user device (Intune / Jamf / Workspace ONE).
  • Policy Document. A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Endpoint compliance telemetry (Intune, Jamf) proves managed coverage. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Establish and Maintain Detailed Enterprise Asset Inventory.

Common pitfalls

  • Pilot MDM rollouts that quietly exclude executives or engineers; carving out the highest-risk users is the most common audit failure.
  • Inventories that exclude SaaS, shadow IT and ephemeral cloud resources (Lambda, Cloud Run, K8s pods) miss the assets where most modern incidents start.
  • Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why.

Related controls in CIS Controls v8

References

Topics: governance riskendpoint securityendpoint protectionasset inventorycloud posturecode review testing