Guideline The Zenith Controls: A GRC Rosetta Stone for ISO 27001, GDPR, NIS2, DORA, NIST, and COBIT

The Zenith Controls

Comprehensive guide to The Zenith Controls: robust information security, access, supplier and development controls mapped to leading global frameworks.

Overview

The Zenith Controls is a detailed reference set of information security controls aligned to major global frameworks, covering governance, physical, people, technological, supplier and development domains, with mapped audit methodology and compliance guidance to support effective management, implementation, and certification.

Comprehensive Control Library

Covers governance, technological, people, and physical security controls for end-to-end information protection.

Mapped to Regulatory Standards

Mapped to ISO/IEC 27001 & 27002, NIST SP 800-53 Rev.5, EU NIS2, DORA, GDPR, and COBIT 2019 for proven compliance coverage.

Operational Implementation Guidance

Contains detailed ties to other controls, implementation notes, and cross-references to practical risk scenarios.

Third-Party & Supply Chain Security

Addresses supplier contracts, cloud, and outsourced development with sample audit criteria and security clauses.

End-to-End Risk Management

Links risk identification, treatment, incident response, and continuous improvement in a unified security framework.

Audit-Ready Control Mapping

Each control includes audit evidence requirements, ISO/NIST mapping, and methodology expectations for certification audits.

Integrated Privacy & Security

Incorporates PII handling, data masking, minimization, and deletion for privacy regulations and security best practice.

Read Full Overview
The Zenith Controls provides a comprehensive, structured set of information security controls aligned with internationally recognized standards for effective governance, risk management, and compliance. Spanning governance, technological, physical, and people domains, the guide details individual controls, including policy management, role definition, supplier oversight, asset inventory, access management, vulnerability management, secure development, and incident response, with in-depth cross-references to global frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO/IEC 27002:2022, NIST SP 800-53 Rev.5, EU NIS2 Directive, EU DORA, EU GDPR, and COBIT 2019. Each control in the set is meticulously described, showing operational attributes, risk objectives, information security properties addressed, and relationships with other controls. Controls are not examined in isolation but mapped across interconnected governance, technological, supplier, and development scenarios. Practical implementation notes accompany every control, supported by summarized audit methodology expectations that reflect current best practice, including interviewing, documentation review, sampling, and live scenario tests. Notably, The Zenith Controls addresses the full security lifecycle: from security policy creation and management responsibilities, through access and identity management (across privilege, information restriction, and authentication), to secure project delivery, change management, and supplier (including cloud and outsourced development) controls. Detailed attention is given to technical domains such as vulnerability management, segregation of networks, configuration baselines, secure system architecture, and secure development life cycle (SDLC), all the way through backup and redundancy planning, logging, monitoring, and handling of incidents and continuous improvement. Data protection, and the intersection of privacy with security, is a recurring theme. The guide integrates practices for privacy by design/default, data minimization, masking, control of test information, timely deletion, and secure disposal of storage media. Where applicable, controls are linked to cross-regulatory compliance for personal data, including clear mappings to GDPR and ISO/IEC 27701/27018 requirements, with special concern for audit trails, user rights exercises, and handling of PII in supplier and cloud relationships. Third-party and supply chain security are also treated comprehensively. Controls detail due diligence, contract clauses, audit rights, incident notification requirements, and secure development practices for external relationships. Guidance is provided on managing the full third-party lifecycle, including data exchange, cloud responsibilities, and ensuring that supplier-managed environments align with the organization’s risk and compliance needs. Across all controls, The Zenith Controls provides sample mapping tables to regulatory clauses, suggests evidence and KPIs for operational and audit readiness, and aligns practices with current frameworks and industry trends, making it an indispensable resource for organizations seeking to operationalize best-practice security, meet cross-jurisdictional compliance needs, and assure stakeholders of their security posture.

What's Inside

Full list of 5.x–8.x controls (governance, people, physical, technological)

Detailed cross-references: ISO/IEC 27001, 27002, NIST SP 800-53, EU NIS2, DORA, GDPR, COBIT

Control-specific audit methodology and evidence criteria

Testing and acceptance requirements for DevOps, supplier, and cloud environments

Data protection, privacy, and deletion practices

Continuous improvement and incident response integration

Framework Compliance

🛡️ Supported Standards & Frameworks

This product is aligned with the following compliance frameworks, with detailed clause and control mappings.

Related Policies

Information Security Policy

Establishes organizational information security policies as the foundation for governance.

Governance Roles And Responsibilities Policy

Defines accountability for developing, approving, and enforcing information security controls.

p7-management-responsibilities

Assigns top management's duty for ISMS oversight, policy implementation, and compliance assurance.

p8-contact-with-authorities

Ensures organizations maintain relationships and protocols for timely engagement with external authorities.

p9-contact-with-special-interest-groups

Promotes participation in security communities to benefit from shared knowledge, benchmarking, and threat intelligence.

About Clarysec Policies - The Zenith Controls

This book is a field-tested playbook for auditors, CISOs, and compliance leads who want operational control, not theoretical checklists. Every control is broken down for direct mapping to ISO 27001:2022, NIS2, DORA, GDPR, and NIST, showing exactly what auditors will expect and what evidence actually matters. You get actionable cross-references, role-by-role assignments, and clause-level breakdowns designed for hands-on ISMS implementation, audit preparation, and continuous improvement. No filler, no ambiguity, just the essential guidance and tools you need to close compliance gaps and defend your business.

Rich Audit and Evidence Guidance

Provides explicit audit methodology and sample evidence for each control, supporting internal, external, and certification audits.

Detailed Control Interrelationships

Maps practical control relationships, enabling organizations to understand security dependencies across governance, technology, and operations.

Up-to-Date Regulatory Mappings

Offers the latest cross-compliance mapping to all major frameworks, easing certification, self-assessment, and regulatory reporting.

Supplier & Outsourcing Security Coverage

Comprehensively addresses contract, monitoring, and audit requirements for vendor and outsourcing security risk management.

Frequently Asked Questions

Built for Leaders, By Leaders

This policy was authored by a security leader with 25+ years of experience deploying and auditing ISMS frameworks for global enterprises. It's designed not just to be a document, but a defensible framework that stands up to auditor scrutiny.

Authored by an expert holding:

MSc Cyber Security, Royal Holloway UoL CISM CISA ISO 27001:2022 Lead Auditor & Implementer CEH

Coverage & Topics

🏢 Target Departments

IT Security Compliance Audit Governance

🏷️ Topic Coverage

Access Control Identity Management Authentication Management Privileged Access Management
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The Zenith Controls

Product Details

Type: Guideline
Category: The Zenith Controls: A GRC Rosetta Stone for ISO 27001, GDPR, NIS2, DORA, NIST, and COBIT
Standards: 7