Checklist

CAIQ response guide

The Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ) is the dominant UK enterprise security questionnaire format. Pre-building a complete CAIQ response template compresses enterprise security review from 4-8 weeks to 2-3 weeks. This guide is the structural approach.

What CAIQ is

CAIQ is published by the Cloud Security Alliance. The current version (CAIQ v4 family) covers 17 control domains with 200+ questions, each mapping to specific security and compliance requirements. Most UK enterprise buyers either use CAIQ directly or run a custom questionnaire mapped to CAIQ controls.

The 17 control domains

  1. Audit and Assurance
  2. Application and Interface Security
  3. Business Continuity Management and Operational Resilience
  4. Change Control and Configuration Management
  5. Cryptography, Encryption and Key Management
  6. Datacenter Security
  7. Data Security and Privacy Lifecycle Management
  8. Governance, Risk Management and Compliance
  9. Human Resources Security
  10. Identity and Access Management
  11. Interoperability and Portability
  12. Infrastructure and Virtualization Security
  13. Logging and Monitoring
  14. Security Incident Management, E-Discovery and Cloud Forensics
  15. Supply Chain Management, Transparency and Accountability
  16. Threat and Vulnerability Management
  17. Universal Endpoint Management

How to pre-build a complete response template

STEP 1 - DOWNLOAD THE LATEST CAIQ
- Source: cloudsecurityalliance.org
- License: CSA permits internal use; external distribution restricted

STEP 2 - WORK THROUGH THE 200+ QUESTIONS
For each question, provide:
- Yes / No / Not applicable
- Short answer (1-3 sentences)
- Reference to your security policy / control documentation
- Owner inside your security team

STEP 3 - HAVE YOUR CISO / SECURITY LEAD REVIEW
Every question must have an authoritative-source-of-truth answer.
Wrong answers create regulatory and contractual exposure.

STEP 4 - VERSION-CONTROL THE TEMPLATE
Update quarterly. Tag with CAIQ version. Date every section.
Don't ship stale answers.

STEP 5 - CREATE THE BUYER-FACING DELIVERABLE
- Word document or PDF for buyer-side import
- Spreadsheet equivalent for buyers using Excel-based questionnaires
- Maintain both formats

STEP 6 - WHEN A BUYER ASKS, RESPOND IN 24-48 HOURS
- Pull from the template
- Customise the 5-10 buyer-specific answers
- Send within 48 hours of request

WHAT NOT TO DO
- Don't promise 'we'll respond in 4 weeks'. Buyers move on
  to vendors who respond in 4 days.
- Don't mark every question 'see attached SOC 2 report' as a
  catch-all. Specific answers are required.
- Don't answer questions outside your CISO's authority.
  Wrong answers expose the company.

Why this matters

UK enterprise security review is a structural part of the 2026 sales motion (see our piece on Information Security workstream in pre-sales). Vendors who arrive with a pre-completed CAIQ response that the buyer can read on day one of evaluation compress procurement materially. Vendors who don't typically lose 4-8 weeks while the response is produced under deadline pressure.

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