What it means
Control allocation identifies who implements each requirement, where evidence resides, which dependencies exist, and how changes in shared services affect consuming systems.
Why it matters
Clear allocation prevents gaps, duplicate work, and false assurance when a system assumes a provider is responsible for a control that was never actually inherited.
Practical focus
- Document the provider and consumer responsibilities
- Verify the scope and status of inherited controls
- Track shared-control dependencies and changes
- Assign system-specific portions of hybrid controls
Common mistakes
- Marking a control inherited without evidence
- Assuming cloud use transfers all responsibility
- Ignoring provider exceptions
- Failing to reassess when the shared service changes
Certification relevance
This subject appears in or supports the following certification bodies of knowledge: