How to Map Controls Across Frameworks

Start by listing every compliance framework your organisation must adhere to. These may come from regulatory mandates (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS), customer requirements (SOC 2, ISO 27001), or internal policies (NIST CSF, CIS Controls). Prioritise frameworks by enforcement deadline and business impact. For example, a healthcare SaaS company processing EU patient data might need HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2 simultaneously. Documenting the scope of each framework — which business units, systems, and data types it covers — prevents scope creep later.

Every framework organises controls differently. ISO 27001:2022 uses 4 themes (Organisational, People, Physical, Technological) containing 93 controls. NIST CSF 2.0 uses 6 functions (Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover) with categories and subcategories. SOC 2 uses 5 Trust Services Criteria. Before mapping, study the hierarchy of each framework: domains or categories at the top, individual controls or requirements below. Understanding this structure is essential for accurate mapping — a top-level NIST category might correspond to multiple ISO 27001 controls.

Most compliance frameworks address the same fundamental security domains: access control, encryption, incident response, risk assessment, logging and monitoring, change management, and vendor management. Create a domain-level alignment first. For instance, ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (Technological controls) overlaps with NIST CSF's Protect function and SOC 2's CC6 (Logical and Physical Access Controls). This high-level alignment helps you see the big picture before diving into individual control mappings. Tools like TheArtOfService's cross-framework comparison can automate this domain alignment across 690+ frameworks.

Build a spreadsheet or database table where rows represent controls from your primary (source) framework and columns track the corresponding controls in each target framework. For each source control, find the closest matching control(s) in the target frameworks. A single source control may map to multiple target controls (one-to-many) or vice versa (many-to-one). Record the mapping strength: exact match, partial overlap, or no equivalent. Include the control code, title, and a brief rationale for each mapping. This matrix becomes your single source of truth for multi-framework compliance.

Verify your mappings by cross-referencing with authoritative sources. NIST publishes official mapping documents between SP 800-53 and ISO 27001. CSA CCM includes mappings to ISO 27001, NIST, and COBIT. Industry groups like the Unified Compliance Framework maintain curated cross-references. Automated platforms can compare control descriptions using semantic analysis to identify potential gaps. After validation, tag each mapping as "verified" or "needs review." Have a subject-matter expert review any partial or ambiguous mappings to ensure compliance coverage has no blind spots.

Compliance frameworks are living documents — ISO 27001 was updated in 2022, NIST CSF moved to version 2.0, and PCI DSS released version 4.0. Establish a review cadence (at least annually) to update your mapping matrix when frameworks release new versions. Track which controls were added, modified, or retired. Automate change detection where possible by subscribing to framework update notifications. Document version numbers in your matrix so auditors can verify that your mappings reflect the current edition of each standard. A stale mapping matrix is worse than none at all.