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Secure Baselines

The organization shall define secure configuration baselines for all cloud services and resources, specifying the security settings and parameters required for secure operation. Baselines shall include operating system configurations, service configurations, network settings, and security control parameters.

Requirement ID
CLD-003-R002
Parent Control
CLD-003
Domain Code
CLD

Requirement Details & Guidance

CLD-003-R002 · CLD-003
Why This Requirement Exists

This requirement reduces risk in secure cloud configuration management by ensuring secure baselines is defined, consistently implemented and demonstrably effective across cloud environments. It supports the organization's need to secure cloud-based assets, data and services while managing cloud-specific risk.

Implementation Guidance

Define hardened baseline settings appropriate to each cloud service and workload type. Version baselines and validate them before production use.

Practical Application & Audit Readiness

CLD-003-R002 · Field Guidance

Business Examples

    Common Audit Findings

      Common Mistakes

        Best Practices & Ownership

        CLD-003 · Recommended Approach

        Recommended Practices

          Typical Owner

          Cross-Mapped Regulatory Frameworks

          Harmonized Control Mappings
          FRAMEWORK CODE FRAMEWORK NAME & DETAILS FAMILY / CATEGORY VERSION ACTION
          IRDAI IRDAI Information & Cyber Security Guidelines IRDAI information and cyber-security requirements... Clause: §2.19-3.4 – Cloud security lifecycle
          India
          Guideline
          		 vLatest View →
          RBI-CSF RBI Cyber Security Framework / Master Directions RBI cyber-security requirements and directions set... Clause: 5) Secure Configuration – 5.1 Baseline security requirements/configurations across device categories and lifecycle, with periodic review; 5) Secure Configuration – 5.2 Periodic evaluation of critical-device configurations and patch levels
          India
          Regulation
          		 vLatest View →
          SEBI-CSCRF SEBI Cyber Security & Cyber Resilience Framework SEBI’s Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framewor... Clause: 3.4 PR.IP: Information Protection Processes and Procedures
          India
          Regulation
          		 vLatest View →
          DORA Digital Operational Resilience Act The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act establis... Clause: Article 9(2) – ICT security policies, procedures, protocols and tools for resilience and data security Article 9(4)(e) – ICT change management: recording, testing, assessing, approving, implementing and verifying changes
          EU
          Regulation
          		 vCurrent View →
          HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA is a U.S. federal law supported by implement... Clause: § 164.312(c) Standard: Configuration management
          US
          Law
          		 vCurrent View →
          ISO27002 ISO/IEC 27002 ISO/IEC 27002 is a guidance standard containing a... Clause: 5.23 – Information security for use of cloud services; 8.9 – Configuration management
          ISO
          Standard
          		 v2022 View →
          NIS2 NIS2 Directive The NIS2 Directive establishes EU-wide cybersecuri... Clause: Article 21(2)(e) – Security in network and information systems acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling and disclosure
          EU
          Directive
          		 vCurrent View →
          NIST-CSF NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) The NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides high-lev... Clause: PR.PS – Platform Security | PR.PS-01 – Configuration management practices are established and applied
          NIST
          Framework
          		 v2 View →
          NIST80053 NIST SP 800-53 NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 presents control families, i... Clause: 3.5 – CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT; CM-2 – BASELINE CONFIGURATION
          NIST
          Control Catalog
          		 vRev. 5 View →
          GDPR General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) The General Data Protection Regulation is a bindin... Clause: Article 32(1) – Security of processing; Article 32(1)(d) – Testing, assessing and evaluating security measures
          EU
          Regulation
          		 vCurrent View →
          CIS-V8 CIS Controls CIS Controls are a prioritized set of cybersecurit... Clause: Control 04 – Secure Configuration of Enterprise Assets and Software: 4.1 – Establish and Maintain a Secure Configuration Process
          CIS
          Best Practice
          		 vv8 View →
          SOC2 SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria SOC 2 is an independent examination and reporting... Clause: CC8.1 – Change Management – The entity authorizes, designs, develops or acquires, configures, documents, tests, approves, and implements changes to infrastructure, data, software, and procedures to meet its objectives. CC7.1 – System Operations – To meet its objectives, the entity uses detection and monitoring procedures to identify (1) changes to configurations that result in the introduction of new vulnerabilities, and (2) susceptibilities to newly discovered vulnerabilities.
          AICPA
          Audit Framework
          		 vLatest View →

          Parent Domain Context

          Governance Domain Baseline
          Domain Name:
          Cloud Security (CLD)
          Purpose:
          To secure the organization's cloud environments and manage cloud-specific risks.
          Scope:
          Enterprise
          View

          Parent Control Context

          Control Baseline
          Control Name:
          Secure Cloud Configuration (CLD-003)
          Summary:
          Establishes secure cloud configuration baselines, standards, validation, monitoring, drift detection, exception management, and continuous improvement for cloud services.
          Business Description:
          Establish, implement, and maintain secure configuration baselines for cloud infrastructure, services, and platform resources.
          View