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Managed Service Provider

What is Managed Service Provider?

A third-party organization that remotely manages IT infrastructure, systems, and services on behalf of client organizations.

Information Security

What the standards actually require on managed service provider

Requirements naming managed service provider across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

Managed service providers and their non-classified, OFFICIAL: Sensitive, PROTECTED and SECRET managed services undergo an Infosec Registered Assessor Program (IRAP) assessment, using the latest release of the ISM available prior to the beginning of the IRAP as...

ISM-1793 · IRAP assessment of managed service providers →

The Directive scopes this deliberately at direct suppliers and service providers, which makes the first artefact an inventory of who those parties are and which of them touch the network and information systems behind the service.

nis2-directive::Art.21.2.d · Supply chain security, covering the relationship with each direct supplier and service provider →

CSF 2.0 outcome: outcomes, capabilities and services that the organization depends on are understood and communicated. Priority Medium.

nist-sp-800-61-rev-3::GV.OC-05 · GV.OC-05 The organization's own dependencies on external resources inform response priorities →

Address cloud-resident data and hosted storage scope per NIST SP 800-88 Rev 1 considerations (acknowledged in Section 3.6) + cloud-era guidance from NIST CSF 2.0 + NIST SP 800-145 + provider-specific documentation.

NISTSP88-8 · Cloud-Resident Data, Hosted Storage, and Scope Boundaries →

Under a Ministerial authorisation for a serious incident (one with relevant impacts on critical infrastructure assets and a material risk of serious prejudice to social or economic stability, defence or national security, or relating to a national emergency de...

security-of-critical-infrastructure-act-2018-soci::s35AK-35AM · Give information under a serious incident information gathering direction →

The program must treat as material risks: a stoppage or major slowdown of the asset's function for an unmanageable period; an impairment that prejudices Australia's social or economic stability or national security;

telecommunications-sector-security-reforms-tssr::TSRMP-8 · TSRMP Rules s 8: the nine specified material risks →

Questions people ask about managed service provider

What is Managed Service Provider?
A third-party organization that remotely manages IT infrastructure, systems, and services on behalf of client organizations.
Why is Managed Service Provider important for compliance?
Managed Service Provider is a key concept in Information Security. Understanding managed service provider helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Managed Service Provider?
Managed Service Provider appears in the requirement text of Australian Information Security Manual, NIS2 Directive, NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 3, NIST SP 800-88, Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (SOCI). Across these standards we have identified 8 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Managed Service Provider?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how managed service provider applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 1,016 frameworks.

See how Managed Service Provider applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.