ControlMap’s April 2024 release came out with a new compliance feature to manage shared responsibilities directly within frameworks.

In cybersecurity compliance, a responsibility matrix is essential. It provides clarity, accountability, and structure, guiding efforts to manage and mitigate risks. This foundational tool supports effective governance and demonstrates commitment to protecting sensitive information and assets.

Some purposes of a shared responsibility matrix for cybersecurity management:

• It clarifies roles and responsibilities, reducing confusion and ensuring tasks are addressed.
• It fosters accountability by assigning specific responsibilities to individuals or teams.
• It promotes collaboration among departments and stakeholders, leading to more effective outcomes.
• It helps identify gaps and redundancies in cybersecurity processes, enabling resource optimization.
• It supports compliance efforts by documenting task implementation and management.
• It facilitates continuous improvement by providing a structured framework for process review and enhancement.

Some frameworks such as CMMC require responsibility to be defined where as other’s it is a good idea. For this reason we have added the responsbility feature to all frameworks as shown below in the screenshot of the CIS Framework with new “Responsibility” feature: 

*Can add multiple responsible parties, edit on the fly and customize pre-set party’s  in settings

Screenshot snippet of Shared Responsibility Matrix Report:

Additional Resources: 

Shared Responsibility Matrix template for comparison from C3PAO Forum