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Secure Design Principles

The organization shall define secure design principles that guide engineering activities and ensure security is embedded in solutions from the outset. Principles shall include least privilege, defense in depth, fail secure, separation of duties, and other foundational security concepts, applied consistently across all engineering activities.

Requirement ID
ARC-005-R002
Parent Control
ARC-005
Domain Code
ARC

Requirement Details & Guidance

ARC-005-R002 · ARC-005
Why This Requirement Exists

This requirement exists to embed least privilege, defense in depth, fail secure, separation of duties, and related principles into engineering and to ensure security architecture decisions are consistent, risk-informed, and traceable.

Implementation Guidance

Establish a documented process for embed least privilege, defense in depth, fail secure, separation of duties, and related principles into engineering. Define accountable roles, required inputs and outputs, approval or validation points, criteria, review frequency, exception handling, monitoring, and evidence requirements. Integrate the activity with architecture governance, risk management, security requirements, engineering, and change processes as applicable. Retain records sufficient to demonstrate that the control operates.

Practical Application & Audit Readiness

ARC-005-R002 · Field Guidance

Business Examples

    Common Audit Findings

      Common Mistakes

        Best Practices & Ownership

        ARC-005 · 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: §2.5-3.1.2.1 – Security requirement analysis and specifications; §2.5-3.1.2.2 – Application development
          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; 6) Application Security Life Cycle (ASLC) – 6.1 Information security across all application lifecycle stages; 6) Application Security Life Cycle (ASLC) – 6.9 Security evaluation and maturity assessment before adopting new technologies for critical systems
          India
          Regulation
          		 vLatest View →
          SEBI-CSCRF SEBI Cyber Security & Cyber Resilience Framework SEBI’s Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framewor... Clause: 3.1 PR.AA: Identity Management, Authentication, and Access Control
          India
          Regulation
          		 vLatest View →
          DORA Digital Operational Resilience Act The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act establis... Clause: Article 7 – ICT systems, protocols and tools Article 9(2) – ICT security policies, procedures, protocols and tools for resilience and data security
          EU
          Regulation
          		 vCurrent 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: GV.OC – Organizational Context | GV.OC-01 – The organizational mission is understood and informs cybersecurity risk management
          NIST
          Framework
          		 v2 View →
          NIST80053 NIST SP 800-53 NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 presents control families, i... Clause: 3.17 – SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION; SA-8 – SECURITY AND PRIVACY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES, SA-17 – DEVELOPER SECURITY AND PRIVACY ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
          NIST
          Control Catalog
          		 vRev. 5 View →
          SOC2 SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria SOC 2 is an independent examination and reporting... Clause: CC5.2 – Control Activities – COSO Principle 11: The entity also selects and develops general control activities over technology to support the achievement of objectives. CC5.1 – Control Activities – COSO Principle 10: The entity selects and develops control activities that contribute to the mitigation of risks to the achievement of objectives to acceptable levels. CC1.1 – Control Environment – COSO Principle 1: The entity demonstrates a commitment to integrity and ethical values.
          AICPA
          Audit Framework
          		 vLatest View →

          Parent Domain Context

          Governance Domain Baseline
          Domain Name:
          Security Architecture (ARC)
          Purpose:
          To design secure systems and ensure security is built into the architecture.
          Scope:
          Enterprise
          View

          Parent Control Context

          Control Baseline
          Control Name:
          Secure Engineering Principles (ARC-005)
          Summary:
          Establishes secure engineering principles including design principles, engineering standards, security by design, technology integration, validation, monitoring, reporting, review, and continuous improvement.
          Business Description:
          Establish and maintain secure engineering principles, design practices, and architectural standards that are applied consistently across infrastructure, applications, cloud, platforms, and emerging technologies.
          View