CIS Controls v8 15.7 — Securely Decommission Service Providers

What this control requires

Securely decommission service providers. Example considerations include user and service account deactivation, termination of data flows, and secure disposal of enterprise data within service provider systems.

In plain English

Securely decommission service providers. In practice, this means you can prove you securely data flows-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.

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 Protect, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control 15.7) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

How to implement

1. Write a short policy stating intent, scope and named owner.
2. Encode it as a platform guardrail — SCP, Azure Policy initiative, Organisation Policy, or repository policy.
3. Wire a monitoring signal that catches drift (CSPM rule, SIEM rule, scheduled query, Workspace alert) and ticket it.
4. Review on a documented cadence and capture the review in the risk register or compliance tracker.

Operational checklist

• Securely. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Protect. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Scope: data flows, disposal, user, service, service providers, decommission service providers, service account deactivation, enterprise.

Evidence to collect

• Vendor Risk Management. vendor_risk_management evidence

Third-party risk management evidence (assessments, contracts, due diligence) shows supplier oversight. Focus: Securely Decommission Service Providers.

Related controls in CIS Controls v8

• Control 9.1 — Ensure Use of Only Fully Supported Browsers and Email Clients
• Control 3.8 — Document Data Flows
• Control 15.1 — Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Providers
• Control 3.13 — Deploy a Data Loss Prevention Solution
• Control 15.3 — Classify Service Providers
• Control 15.6 — Monitor Service Providers

References

• Center for Internet Security — CIS Controls v8
• Catalogue identifier: Control 15.7

Topics: vendor riskvendor managementsupply chain securitythird party monitoring