What this control covers
Designate a primary person and a backup to manage the enterprise's incident handling process. They coordinate and document incident response and recovery, whether handled internally, by third-party vendors, or a mix. If using a third party, assign an internal contact to oversee their work. Review roles annually or after major enterprise changes.
Why it matters
Risk is the language an executive team understands; this control connects technical reality to board-level decisions and budget allocation.
How to implement
AWS
Codify the policy intent as SCPs, AWS Config conformance packs, and Security Hub standards so the cloud enforces what the document says.
Azure
Codify in Azure Policy initiatives (built-in regulatory compliance for CIS, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA) and assign at management-group level.
GCP
Use Backup and DR Service for VM/DB and managed snapshot policies for disks; replicate critical GCS to a different region + project under separate IAM.
Google Workspace
Google Vault retention rules cover Gmail/Drive/Chat; combine with periodic third-party backups (e.g., Spanning, Backupify) for full restore-by-user.
GitHub
Subscribe to secret-scanning alerts and Dependabot security advisories; require triage SLAs by severity. For exposed secrets, rotate at the cloud provider FIRST then revoke at GitHub — order matters.
On-premises
Maintain a policy library with a documented review cadence (annual minimum); store in your GRC tool with attestation tracking. Map each policy to controls so an audit pull cites the exact policy clause.
Evidence to collect
vendor_risk_management— See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.policy_document— A signed, version-controlled policy stating leadership intent and the named owner.
Third-party risk management evidence (assessments, contracts, due diligence) shows supplier oversight. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Designate Personnel to Manage Incident Handling.
Quick checklist
- Document — Response / Third Party Vendors
- Manage — Response / Third Party Vendors
- Designate — Response / Third Party Vendors
- Assign — Response / Third Party Vendors
Related articles on this site
- NIST 800-171 3.6.1 Establish an operational incident-handling capability for organizational systems that includes preparation, detection, analysis, containment, recovery, and user response activities.
- CMMC 2.0 IR.2.092 Establish an operational incident-handling capability for organizational systems that includes preparation, detection, analysis, containment, recovery, and user response activities.
- Source Code Supply Chain Security
- 164.308(a)(1)(i)- Security management process