CIS AWS Foundations v1.2 1.18: Security contact information should be provided for an AWS account

CIS AWS Foundations v1.2 1.18 looks deceptively simple: “provide security contact information for an AWS account.” In audits, that simplicity becomes a trap. Teams set a generic email once, forget to update it after org changes, and can’t show which accounts are covered. The result is a control that “exists” but does not operate reliably.

This requirement is part of the CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark and is mapped in AWS Security Hub (control mapping: Account.1) ¹. For a Compliance Officer, CCO, or GRC lead, the operational goal is consistent: every AWS account that matters must have an accountable security contact that is monitored, escalatable, and reviewable.

This page gives you requirement-level implementation guidance: scope, ownership, step-by-step configuration, evidence to retain, common auditor questions, and a pragmatic execution plan. It is written to help you ship the control across single-account and multi-account AWS environments (Organizations, Control Tower, or bespoke landing zones) without creating a brittle, manual process.

Regulatory text

Requirement (excerpt): “Implement CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark v1.2 requirement 1.18 as mapped in AWS Security Hub.” ¹

Operator interpretation: You must configure security contact information at the AWS account level and be able to demonstrate it is present and maintained across your AWS account fleet. “As mapped in AWS Security Hub” means you should align your implementation and evidence to AWS Security Hub’s CIS coverage for this check (Account.1) ².

Plain-English interpretation (what the control is really asking)

Provide AWS with a reliable way to reach your security responders for account-specific security issues, and prove the information is not stale. In practice, this means:

• A named security contact function (not a departed employee).
• A monitored email inbox (or ticketing integration) that is part of incident response intake.
• A phone number that reaches an on-call path or security operations desk (if you provide phone).
• A review process so organizational changes do not silently break the contact path.

This is a baseline “reachability” control. It supports incident response, threat notification handling, and operational readiness.

Who it applies to (entity and operational context)

Applies to:

• Any organization operating AWS accounts, especially where Security Hub is in scope for CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark checks ¹.

Operational contexts where auditors care most:

• Multi-account AWS Organizations: You need consistent configuration across member accounts, not only the management account.
• Regulated workloads: Financial services, healthcare, and SaaS environments under contractual security requirements often treat this as evidence of operational security governance.
• 24/7 operations: If your incident response is on-call, the contact must match the on-call intake path, not a daytime-only mailbox.

Ownership model (recommended):

• Control owner: Security Operations (or IR lead).
• Accountable executive: CISO or delegated cloud security leader.
• Implementers: Cloud platform team (IaC / org governance), with GRC verifying evidence.

What you actually need to do (step-by-step)

Below is a practical implementation sequence you can run as a mini-project.

Step 1: Define the “security contact” standard (so it’s auditable)

Create a short internal standard (one page is enough) that specifies:

• Required fields (email required; phone and contact name based on your internal policy).
• Acceptable values (shared mailbox, distro, or ticket intake address tied to your IR process).
• Required monitoring (mailbox monitored and alerts route into incident intake).
• Change control expectations (updates tracked via ITSM or change management).

Tie this standard to the CIS requirement and Security Hub mapping (Account.1) so evidence is easy to line up ².

Step 2: Inventory AWS accounts in scope

Produce an account inventory that includes:

• AWS account ID
• Account name / environment (prod, dev, sandbox)
• Business owner
• Whether Security Hub is enabled (if applicable to your program)

This inventory becomes your coverage register for the requirement.

Step 3: Set security contact information in every in-scope AWS account

Implementation method depends on your operating model:

Option A: Manual (small footprint, short-term)

• Log into each AWS account (or assume a role with the right permissions).
• Navigate to the account settings/billing contact settings area where AWS supports security contact information entry.
• Populate the approved security email and phone.
• Record a screenshot and the timestamp.

Option B: Centralized governance (preferred for multi-account)

• Use your platform team’s standard account vending process (Control Tower Account Factory or your internal automation) to enforce that new accounts cannot go live without security contact info set.
• Add a configuration check in your CI/CD or account bootstrap runbook.

Option C: Continuous validation via Security Hub

• Enable AWS Security Hub CIS checks where your program uses Security Hub.
• Track the relevant mapped control (Account.1) and drive findings to closure ².

Step 4: Make the contact operational (not just “filled in”)

Auditors and incident responders will test whether the contact is real. Operationalize it:

• Route the security contact mailbox into your incident intake (SOC queue, ticketing, pager).
• Ensure the mailbox is not tied to a single individual.
• Add it to your offboarding checklist so it remains monitored during org churn.

Step 5: Implement periodic verification

You need an explicit verification cadence that fits your change rate. Practical patterns:

• Event-driven: Re-check contact info whenever there is an account owner change, acquisition, re-org, or security team restructure.
• Time-based: Quarterly verification aligned to access reviews or cloud governance reviews (guidance).

Verification should produce an artifact (report export, screenshot set, or Security Hub control status export) that you can hand to an auditor.

Step 6: Close the loop with exceptions

Some accounts (labs, training, acquired business units) may lag. Handle this through:

• A documented exception with an owner, reason, and remediation date (guidance).
• A compensating control (for example, centralized Security Hub notifications to a SOC intake) if the account-level field cannot be updated immediately (guidance).

Required evidence and artifacts to retain

Retain evidence in a way that demonstrates both design (policy/standard) and operation (implemented and maintained).

Minimum evidence set (audit-ready):

1. Security contact standard (internal policy/standard mapping to CIS AWS Foundations v1.2 1.18) ³.
2. AWS account inventory with in-scope accounts and owners (internal artifact).
3. Proof of configuration per account, one of:
   • Screenshots of the AWS account security contact settings showing the configured values and account ID, or
   • Export/report demonstrating the setting across accounts (where your tooling supports it), or
   • Security Hub evidence showing Account.1 passing for those accounts ².
4. Verification evidence (dated): review log, Security Hub snapshot, or signed attestation by control owner.
5. Change records for updates to contact details (ticket IDs, change requests).

Practical tip: Store evidence by account ID and date. Auditors will ask, “Show me this is set for account X, and show me you review it.”

Common exam/audit questions and hangups

Expect these questions in internal audits, SOC 2 testing, and cloud security reviews:

• “Is this set for all AWS accounts, or only production?”
  Have a scope statement. If you exclude dev/sandbox, document why and what notifications still route to security.

• “Is the mailbox monitored 24/7?”
  If you have 24/7 commitments, show on-call integration or SOC procedures. If you do not, state operating hours and escalation procedures.

• “What happens if the named person leaves?”
  Auditors prefer role-based contacts. Show that the contact is a shared mailbox or distribution list and is part of offboarding controls.

• “How do you ensure new accounts aren’t missed?”
  Show account vending controls or a monthly reconciliation between AWS Organizations and your inventory (guidance).

• “Can you show Security Hub mapping evidence?”
  Be ready to show the mapped control reference (Account.1) and the control status per account ².

Frequent implementation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Mistake	Why it fails	How to avoid
Setting a personal email as the security contact	Breaks on PTO/offboarding; creates single point of failure	Use a monitored shared mailbox tied to incident intake (guidance)
Configuring the management account only	Member accounts remain unreachable	Track by account ID; verify across all in-scope accounts
No periodic verification	Contact becomes stale after re-orgs	Add a recurring governance check; retain dated evidence (guidance)
No linkage to incident response	Contact exists but no one responds	Route mailbox to SOC/ticketing and test it (guidance)
Evidence is ad hoc screenshots without account IDs	Auditors can’t tie evidence to scope	Standardize naming: accountID_date_control, store centrally

Enforcement context and risk implications

No public enforcement cases were provided in the source catalog for this specific CIS requirement. Treat the risk as operational: missed AWS security notifications, slower incident triage, and gaps in accountability during a security event ³. In assurance work, failures typically show up as control design/operation deficiencies rather than direct fines.

30/60/90-day execution plan

First 30 days (stabilize)

• Assign control owner and define the security contact standard for AWS accounts ³.
• Build an authoritative AWS account inventory and mark in-scope accounts.
• Set security contact information for high-risk accounts first (production, internet-facing, regulated data).

Next 60 days (scale and prove)

• Roll the setting across all remaining in-scope accounts.
• Enable or align evidence collection to AWS Security Hub’s CIS mapping (Account.1) where Security Hub is part of your program ².
• Establish a verification workflow and evidence repository structure (by account ID and review date).

By 90 days (operationalize)

• Integrate security contact mailbox into incident intake and confirm staffing/ownership.
• Add “security contact configured” as a gate in account provisioning (Control Tower/account factory or internal automation) (guidance).
• Run an internal audit dry-run: sample accounts, show evidence, show verification log, show exception handling.

Where Daydream fits: Daydream helps you turn CIS AWS Foundations v1.2 1.18 into an auditable requirement with a control narrative, mapped evidence requests, and recurring verification tasks aligned to Security Hub’s CIS mapping ².

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this requirement apply to every AWS account, including dev and sandbox?

Apply it to every account that can generate security findings or affect production. If you exclude certain accounts, document the scope decision and ensure centralized security notifications still reach your responders ³.

What should we use for the security contact email address?

Use a role-based, monitored mailbox (for example, a SOC intake or security operations queue) rather than a person’s email. Make sure it routes into your incident management process so messages are actioned (guidance).

How do we prove compliance during an audit?

Keep per-account configuration evidence (screenshots or exports) plus a periodic verification record. If you use Security Hub, retain evidence tied to the mapped CIS control (Account.1) ².

We have AWS Organizations. Do we set this once in the management account?

Assume you must set and verify it for each in-scope member account unless your environment has a verified centralized mechanism that covers all accounts. Auditors typically sample member accounts, not only the management account (guidance).

What’s the minimum operational process beyond setting the field?

Ownership, monitoring, and review. Assign an owner, ensure the mailbox is monitored and escalated, and run periodic verification with retained evidence (guidance).

Can we satisfy this if our security contact is a third party SOC?

Yes, if the contact reliably reaches the responsible responders and you can show the relationship and escalation path. Retain the contract/SOW excerpt or runbook page that documents responsibilities and escalation (guidance).

Related compliance topics

• 03.01.18: Access Control for Mobile Devices
• 03.01.19: Withdrawn
• 03.01.20: Use of External Systems
• 03.01.21: Withdrawn
• 03.01.22: Publicly Accessible Content

Footnotes

1. CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark; AWS Security Hub CIS AWS Foundations mapping table

2. AWS Security Hub CIS AWS Foundations mapping table

3. CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark