Which controls does the STAR program rely on for cloud provider assessments?

The STAR program, which stands for Security, Trust, Assurance, and Risk, is administered by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and focuses on providing a framework for assessing and improving cloud security practices among cloud service providers. The CSA Cloud Controls Framework is specifically designed to address cloud-specific security controls and best practices.

This framework includes a detailed set of security controls that cloud service providers can implement and assess, making it highly relevant for evaluating their security measures. By relying on this framework, the STAR program ensures that the assessments are aligned with the unique challenges and characteristics of cloud environments, promoting consistency and thoroughness in evaluating cloud security.

The other frameworks, while important in their own rights, do not specifically cater to the needs of cloud environments in the same way the CSA Cloud Controls Framework does. ISO 27001, for example, is a broader information security management standard and while it can be applied in cloud contexts, it does not specifically address cloud-specific issues to the extent that the CSA framework does. Similarly, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and COBIT Framework are valuable for overall security management and governance but do not focus on cloud-specific controls in the same structured manner as the CSA framework, making the CSA Cloud Controls Framework the appropriate choice for the STAR