ISO 27001 Annex A 5.2 Defining information security roles and responsibilities

This control partially overlaps A.3.2.

Annex A 3.2 (ISO/IEC 42001:2023) requires the organisation to define and allocate roles and responsibilities for AI. Annex A 5.2 (ISO/IEC 27001:2022) similarly requires defining and allocating information security roles and responsibilities, often including AI-related security accountabilities. Annex A 3.2 is broader for AI governance, while Annex A 5.2 is broader for information security.

This control partially overlaps A.4.6.

Annex A 4.6 involves documenting personnel and their skills across the AI lifecycle. Annex A 5.2 involves defining and allocating information security roles and responsibilities, aligning where those roles intersect with AI security aspects. Annex A 4.6 extends beyond security roles to document all lifecycle functions including non-security areas such as integration and decommissioning.

This control partially overlaps A.10.2.

Annex A 10.2 requires the organisation to allocate responsibilities across the AI system life cycle between itself and external parties (partners, suppliers, customers and third parties). ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A 5.2 relates by requiring information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated, which overlaps with defining who is accountable for security-related AI life-cycle activities. Annex A 5.2 is generally internal information security role allocation, while Annex A 10.2 explicitly extends allocation across external parties and the full AI system life cycle.

This control is equivalent to ISM-1997.

ISM-1997 requires the board or executive committee to define clear cyber security roles and responsibilities across the organisation, including within leadership. Annex A 5.2 likewise requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-1997 is more explicit about board/executive ownership, but the core requirement (clear definition and allocation of security roles) is substantially the same.

This control is broader than ISM-2035.

ISM-2035 requires organisations to identify and document security roles, responsibilities and knowledge requirements specifically to support the software development life cycle. ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated across the organisation. ISM-2035 is a more specific application of role definition (and adds knowledge requirements) within the SDLC context, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and not development-specific.

This control is broader than ISM-2036.

Annex A 5.2 requires defining and allocating information security roles and responsibilities across the organisation. ISM-2036 relates by requiring security responsibilities for software developers to be identified and documented, which is a specific workforce subset. Annex A 5.2 is broader because it includes all roles (e.g. users, administrators, executives, third parties) not only software developers.

This control partially overlaps ISM-0043.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0043 overlaps by requiring incident response plans to define reporting pathways and the authorities responsible for investigating and responding to incidents, which is explicit allocation of security responsibilities in the incident domain. ISM-0043 is narrower (incident response planning and authority definitions), while Annex A 5.2 is broader and applies across all information security activities.

This control partially overlaps ISM-0047.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0047 overlaps by allocating specific approval responsibilities for cyber security documentation to the CISO and Authorising Officer, which are explicit security governance roles. ISM-0047 is narrower (documentation approval authority), whereas Annex A 5.2 covers role definition and allocation more generally, beyond document approvals.

This control partially overlaps ISM-0714.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0714 overlaps by requiring appointment of a CISO to provide cyber security leadership and guidance, which is a key role allocation within the security governance model. ISM-0714 is narrower (mandating a specific role exists), while Annex A 5.2 is broader (defining and allocating all roles and responsibilities, whether centralised or delegated).

This control partially overlaps ISM-0717.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0717 overlaps by defining the CISO's responsibility to oversee management of cyber security personnel, which is part of allocating and governing security responsibilities through staffing and management structures. ISM-0717 is narrower and focused on personnel oversight, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and applies to the definition and allocation of all security roles and duties.

This control partially overlaps ISM-0725.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0725 overlaps by defining a specific governance responsibility for the CISO (coordinating a cyber security steering committee) and implying participation responsibilities for executives on that committee. ISM-0725 is narrower and prescriptive about a coordination mechanism, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and not tied to a particular committee structure.

This control partially overlaps ISM-0726.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0726 overlaps by defining a specific CISO responsibility to coordinate security risk management between cyber security and business teams, which is an allocation of accountability for cross-functional risk activities. ISM-0726 is narrower and focused on coordination of risk management, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and covers defining and allocating all information security roles.

This control partially overlaps ISM-0734.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-0734 overlaps by defining a specific responsibility for the CISO to contribute to business continuity and disaster recovery planning. ISM-0734 is a role-specific duty in one domain (BC/DR), while Annex A 5.2 is broader and covers defining and allocating all information security responsibilities across the organisation.

This control partially overlaps ISM-1071.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-1071 overlaps by mandating that each system has a designated system owner, which is a concrete role allocation that supports accountability for system security. ISM-1071 is narrower and system-specific, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and covers all security roles and responsibility allocations beyond system ownership.

This control partially overlaps ISM-1478.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-1478 overlaps by assigning the CISO responsibility to oversee the cyber security program and ensure compliance with obligations, which is an explicit allocation of security governance accountability. ISM-1478 is narrower (CISO oversight and compliance assurance), while Annex A 5.2 is broader and covers all roles, not only the CISO.

This control partially overlaps ISM-1525.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-1525 overlaps by requiring system owners to register systems with their Authorising Officer, which relies on clear assignment of the system owner and authorisation responsibilities. ISM-1525 is a specific governance workflow for systems, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and covers role definition and allocation across the entire information security program.

This control partially overlaps ISM-1773.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-1773 relates by specifying an eligibility requirement (nationality/secondment status) for a particular high-trust role: gateway system administrators for Access Only networks. ISM-1773 is role-specific and focused on personnel eligibility, while Annex A 5.2 is broader and covers defining and allocating all security roles and duties across the organisation.

This control partially overlaps ISM-2001.

Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. ISM-2001 overlaps by assigning an executive/board responsibility to champion cyber security culture, which is part of senior leadership's security role expectations. ISM-2001 is focused on tone-from-the-top and cultural leadership, while Annex A 5.2 is broader governance covering definition and allocation of roles across all levels.

This control partially overlaps ISM-2006.

ISM-2006 requires the board/executive committee to understand their duties in relation to major cyber security incidents and to participate in preparedness activities. Annex A 5.2 requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated across the organisation. They overlap in clarifying responsibilities, but ISM-2006 is specifically about executive/board duties and exercising for major incidents, while Annex A 5.2 is organisation-wide and not incident-specific.

This control depends on ISM-2020.

ISM-2020 requires the CISO to acquire sufficient cyber security personnel with the right skills and experience. Annex A 5.2 is a prerequisite because defining and allocating information security roles and responsibilities is necessary to identify what cyber security positions are required and what skills/experience to hire for. ISM-2020 focuses on obtaining people, while Annex A 5.2 focuses on the organisational role design and allocation that drives recruitment needs.

This control is broader than IT.GOV-01.1.

IT.GOV-01.1 requires the organisation to formally define and establish executive and board-level accountabilities for cyber security, including setting, monitoring and adjusting risk appetite, and to review them at a defined cadence. This is a specific, top-level case of ISO/IEC 27001 Annex A 5.2, which requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated according to organisational needs. Annex A 5.2 covers security roles at every level, while IT.GOV-01.1 is limited to executive and board accountability but is more explicit about risk appetite ownership and periodic review.

This control partially overlaps IT.GOV-04.1.

IT.GOV-04.1 requires the organisation to assign sufficient cyber security personnel and resources with the required skills to operate, monitor, maintain and manage security controls, and to define cyber security responsibilities within role descriptions. Defining those responsibilities and assigning people to them overlaps directly with ISO/IEC 27001 Annex A 5.2, which requires information security roles and responsibilities to be defined and allocated. IT.GOV-04.1 adds expectations about resourcing sufficiency and skills, while Annex A 5.2 extends to security responsibilities held by roles across the whole organisation.