gv-rr-2 critical Govern / Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities

Cybersecurity roles, responsibilities, and authorities are established and enforced

Ambiguity about who owns security decisions causes gaps and delays. When an incident happens and nobody knows whether IT, engineering, or legal leads the response, precious time is lost. Clearly defined roles ensure every security function has a named owner, every owner knows their scope, and the organization can act quickly under pressure.

Estimated effort: 4h

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Complete first: gv-rr-1

Implementation steps

1

Document cybersecurity roles and their responsibilities

List every security-relevant role in the organization: security owner, incident commander, asset owners, data stewards, system administrators, and any third-party security service providers. For each role, write down what they are responsible for, what decisions they can make autonomously, and what requires escalation.

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2

Assign roles to named individuals

Every role should map to a specific person, not just a team or job title. For critical roles like incident commander or data breach coordinator, designate a primary and a backup. Publish the assignments so anyone in the organization knows who to contact.

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3

Communicate and review role assignments

Share the roles-and-responsibilities document with all employees during onboarding and whenever it changes. Review assignments at least annually and whenever an assigned person leaves the organization. Confirm that role holders understand and accept their responsibilities.