# ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.4 — Access to source code - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-4-access-to-source-code - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022) › Technological controls - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **ISO/IEC 27001:2022**·Annex A `A.8.4`·high·Component: **Technological controls** ## What this control requires > Read and write access to source code, development tools and software libraries shall be appropriately managed. > > — ISO/IEC 27001:2022, Annex A A.8.4 ### In plain English Read and write access to source code, development tools and software libraries shall be appropriately managed. In practice, this means you can prove you management management-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters ISO 27001 certification depends on showing each Annex A control is either implemented or explicitly justified for exclusion in the Statement of Applicability (SoA). Certification bodies sample controls during surveillance audits, and a missing SoA entry — or implementation that doesn't match the SoA wording — is a finding. 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 An ISO 27001 lead auditor looks for: (1) an SoA entry covering the control with justification, (2) a documented procedure or policy implementing it, (3) records that prove the procedure runs (logs, tickets, training records) and (4) management-review evidence that effectiveness is monitored. Within **Technological controls**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Annex A A.8.4) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Secure Development **Pipeline.** Require code review, SAST (Semgrep / Snyk Code), SCA (Dependabot / Renovate), secret-scanning and IaC scanning in the merge pipeline. **Branch protection.** Protected branches enforce reviews, signed commits and passing CI before merge; document the protection rules as the control evidence. ### Operational checklist - **Management.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Identity.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Secure.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, security, source code, software, development. ## Evidence to collect - **Code Repo Scan.** Source-control evidence — branch protection, required reviewers, CI status, SCA / SAST reports. - **Identity Scan.** IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in. - **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings. Source control audit logs (GitHub, GitLab) and IAM analytics confirm only authorized engineers access repositories. ## Common pitfalls - CI security checks set to warn-only; the merge button is faster than the security feedback. ## 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 3.9.1** — Personnel Screening](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-9-1-personnel-screening) - [**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-11(2)** — Software Installation With Privileged Status](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-11-2-software-installation-with-privileged-status) - [**CIS Controls v8 2.5** — Allowlist Authorized Software](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/2-5-allowlist-authorized-software) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC1.5** — Accountability for Internal Control Responsibilities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc1-5-accountability-for-internal-control-responsibilities) - [**BSI C5:2020 DEV-07** — Logging of changes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/dev-07-logging-of-changes) ## Related controls in ISO/IEC 27001:2022 - [**Annex A A.8.23** — Web filtering](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-23-web-filtering) - [**Annex A A.8.28** — Secure coding](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-28-secure-coding) - [**Annex A A.5.2** — Information security roles and responsibilities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-2-information-security-roles-and-responsibilities) - [**Annex A A.8.2** — Privileged access rights](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-2-privileged-access-rights) - [**Annex A A.5.15** — Access control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-15-access-control) - [**Annex A A.5.16** — Identity management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-16-identity-management) ## References - [ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 — ISO/IEC 27001:2022](https://www.iso.org/standard/27001) - Catalogue identifier: `Annex A A.8.4` Topics: identity accessapplication securityidentity managementaccess reviewprivileged accesssecure development ## Related compliance guidance - [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): Start with the full ISO 27001 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most companies that hold ISO 27001 also need a SOC 2 report for North American customers, and the two share most of their technical controls.