What this policy is
Mandates that every system clock is synchronised to authoritative time sources within a defined tolerance — the basis for usable log correlation and credential validity.
Why every organization needs one
Time drift breaks log correlation (incidents look out-of-order), MFA tokens, certificate validation, and Kerberos. The policy is a one-paragraph requirement that prevents hours of forensic confusion.
What a competent Time Synchronization Policy typically contains
- Purpose and scope
- Roles and responsibilities
- Definitions
- Reference-time-source selection
- Maximum tolerable drift
- Monitoring + alerting on drift
- Backup time sources
- Review cadence (typically annual) and version control
- Approval, sign-off and effective date
How iCompaas tracks this policy
The icompaas policy-doc producer manages this document through an 8-state lifecycle: draft → generated → internal_qa → customer_review → in_review → approved → signed (with rejected as a terminal side-state). The producer publishes a policy_doc_time_synchronization_policy_signed compliance finding once at least one document of this kind reaches the signed state for the account being assessed; the finding then rolls up into every compliance framework that references this policy (see the table below).
Compliance frameworks that reference this policy
The icompaas compliance controls library links every policy document to the controls in each framework that require, evidence, or otherwise rely on it. Below: every control across every framework in the iCompaas catalogue that names this policy as part of its evidence base. Each control links to its own dedicated page with auditor-view content + implementation guidance.
| Framework | Control | Title | Component |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | A.8.17 | Clock synchronization | Technological controls |
| ISO/IEC 27701:2025 | A.1.2.5 | Obtain & record consent | Conditions for collection and processing |
| ISO/IEC 27701:2025 | A.1.3.7 | Access / correction / erasure | Obligations to PII principals |
| ISO/IEC 27701:2025 | A.1.3.10 | Handling requests | Obligations to PII principals |
| ISO/IEC 27701:2025 | A.2.5.5 | Notification of requests | PII sharing, transfer & disclosure (processors) |
| ISO/IEC 42001:2023 | A.7.2 | Data for development and enhancement of AI systems | Technological controls |
| ISO/IEC 42001:2023 | A.8.4 | Communication of incidents | Organizational controls |
7 controls across 3 frameworks reference this policy.
About this page
This article is part of the iCompaas Policy Documents library — one page per signed-document type the icompaas policy-doc producer tracks for customer accounts. The article is intentionally framework-agnostic: a customer signing a policy of this kind gets the same regulatory benefit across every framework that references it.