When companies assess a third-party’s security posture, they rarely start from scratch. Instead, they rely on standardized security questionnaires built on trusted frameworks such as SIG, CAIQ, NIST, and ISO.
These frameworks serve as universal blueprints, helping organizations consistently evaluate vendors, reduce duplicate efforts, and align assessments with global compliance standards.
In this blog, we’ll explore what these frameworks are, how they differ, and how platforms like Akitra Andromeda® Security Questionnaire Automation make this process faster, smarter, and audit-ready.
Why Security Questionnaires Need Standard Frameworks
Vendor risk assessments can quickly spiral into chaos without structure. Imagine every vendor sending a different questionnaire, each with hundreds of overlapping questions, “Do you encrypt data?” “Do you perform annual penetration tests?” “Is there a disaster recovery plan?”
Standard frameworks solve this by providing a common language for cybersecurity assurance.
They:
- Ensure consistency across assessments.
- Map to established controls (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST CSF).
- Save time for both assessors and vendors.
- Facilitate compliance with regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2.
Now, let’s look at the four most widely adopted frameworks shaping modern security questionnaires.
The SIG Security Questionnaire (Standardized Information Gathering)
The SIG security questionnaire, developed by Shared Assessments, is one of the most comprehensive frameworks for third-party risk assessments.
It covers everything from cybersecurity and privacy to operational resilience and compliance.
What It Is
The SIG is a modular questionnaire that organizations use to evaluate vendors’ security maturity. It’s available in two versions:
- SIG Lite: A shorter, 150-question version for low- to medium-risk vendors.
- SIG Core: A detailed, 1,000+ question set designed for critical, high-risk vendors.
Why It Matters
The SIG framework aligns with multiple global standards, such as ISO 27001, NIST CSF, PCI DSS, and GDPR, meaning vendors who answer once can map their responses to multiple frameworks.
Example
A fintech company assessing its cloud hosting provider can use the SIG Lite for initial screening, then expand to the SIG Core during the contract stage for deeper assurance.
Akitra® Advantage
With Akitra Andromeda® Security Questionnaire Automation, organizations can auto-map SIG responses across frameworks, eliminate redundancy, and instantly flag non-compliant answers, saving weeks of manual review.
The CAIQ (Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire)
The CAIQ, developed by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), is specifically tailored for cloud service providers.
What It Is
The CAIQ lists security controls and questions derived from the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM), a standard framework for cloud security assurance.
It helps customers verify whether a CSP (like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) adheres to best practices in:
- Data encryption and key management
- Access controls
- Shared responsibility model
- Identity and access management (IAM)
- Business continuity
Why It Matters
The CAIQ enables transparency between cloud providers and customers. It’s widely used by SaaS vendors, fintech firms, and regulated enterprises to streamline due diligence.
Vendors who publish their CAIQ responses through CSA’s STAR Registry (Security, Trust & Assurance Registry) demonstrate proactive compliance, a major trust signal during procurement.
Akitra® Advantage
Akitra®’s platform integrates with CSA STAR and CCM mappings, allowing companies to auto-import CAIQ templates, evaluate responses, and store all vendor answers in a centralized risk dashboard.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)
The NIST CSF isn’t a questionnaire itself, but it’s the foundation behind many of them.
What It Is
Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework helps organizations assess and improve their security posture.
It includes five core functions:
- Identify – Understand assets, risks, and systems.
- Protect – Implement safeguards and access controls.
- Detect – Monitor for cybersecurity events.
- Respond – Take action against detected incidents.
- Recover – Maintain business continuity and resilience.
Why It Matters
Most modern security questionnaires derive their structure or control mappings from NIST. For instance, questions about access management, incident response, or risk assessment often align with NIST CSF categories.
Akitra® Advantage
Akitra®’s Agentic AI-driven mapping engine automatically associates each vendor response with the relevant NIST control, highlighting compliance gaps and generating real-time risk scores.
ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 Standards
The ISO 27001 framework is the global gold standard for information security management systems (ISMS).
What It Is
ISO 27001 defines the requirements for building, maintaining, and continuously improving an ISMS. ISO 27002, on the other hand, provides detailed controls and implementation guidance.
These standards cover:
- Information security policies
- Asset management
- Cryptography
- Human resource security
- Physical and environmental safety
- Supplier relationships
Why It Matters
ISO 27001-certified vendors demonstrate that their security controls have been audited against a globally recognized benchmark.
Many security questionnaires, including SIG and CAIQ, include direct mappings to ISO 27001 controls, ensuring that vendor responses can double as ISO audit evidence.
Akitra® Advantage
Akitra®’s Compliance Automation syncs ISO 27001 controls with your security questionnaire workflows, ensuring that every vendor’s response ties back to your compliance frameworks, such as SOC 2, NIST, and PCI DSS.
Comparing SIG, CAIQ, NIST, and ISO
|
Framework |
Focus Area |
Ideal For |
Coverage Depth |
Mapping Potential |
|
SIG |
Comprehensive risk and compliance assessment |
All vendors |
Very High |
ISO, NIST, SOC 2, PCI DSS |
|
CAIQ |
Cloud and SaaS security |
Cloud service providers |
Medium |
CSA CCM, ISO 27001 |
|
NIST CSF |
Cybersecurity best practices |
All industries |
Framework-level |
SOC 2, ISO, FedRAMP |
|
ISO 27001 |
Information security management systems |
Global enterprises |
High |
SOC 2, NIST CSF, GDPR |
Each framework serves a unique purpose. Most mature organizations combine them — for example, using SIG for vendor evaluation, CAIQ for cloud assurance, and ISO/NIST for internal control alignment.
The Future of Security Questionnaires: Automation and Agentic AI
Security questionnaires are evolving fast. Manual spreadsheets and email-based assessments are being replaced by AI-driven platforms that learn, adapt, and automate responses.
Trends to Watch:
- Agentic AI for continuous vendor monitoring
- Pre-filled questionnaires based on control data
- Dynamic risk scoring instead of static forms
- Cross-framework mapping to unify SIG, CAIQ, NIST, and ISO answers
Akitra®’s Agentic AI-powered Security Questionnaire Automation eliminates up to 80% of manual effort, helping compliance teams send, receive, and evaluate questionnaires faster, while ensuring every response aligns with your internal frameworks and audit standards.
Conclusion
In today’s interconnected business environment, vendor security is business security. Frameworks like SIG, CAIQ, NIST, and ISO ensure organizations assess partners consistently and transparently, while reducing compliance friction.
By combining these frameworks with Akitra®’s Agentic AI automation, teams can turn questionnaire fatigue into continuous assurance, building a smarter, faster, and more secure vendor ecosystem.
Security, AI Risk Management, and Compliance with Akitra!
In the competitive landscape of SaaS businesses, trust is paramount amidst data breaches and privacy concerns. Akitra addresses this need with its leading Agentic AI-powered Compliance Automation platform. Our platform empowers customers to prevent sensitive data disclosure and mitigate risks, meeting the expectations of customers and partners in the rapidly evolving landscape of data security and compliance. Through automated evidence collection and continuous monitoring, paired with customizable policies, Akitra ensures organizations are compliance-ready for various frameworks such as SOC 1, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 42001, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, NIST AI RMF, FedRAMP, CCPA, CMMC, SOX ITGC, and more such as CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, Australian ISM and Essential Eight etc. In addition, companies can use Akitra’s Risk Management product for overall risk management using quantitative methodologies such as Factorial Analysis of Information Risks (FAIR) and qualitative methods, including NIST-based for your company, Vulnerability Assessment and Pen Testing services, Third Party Vendor Risk Management, Trust Center, and AI-based Automated Questionnaire Response product to streamline and expedite security questionnaire response processes, delivering huge cost savings. Our compliance and security experts provide customized guidance to navigate the end-to-end compliance process confidently. Last but not least, we have also developed a resource hub called Akitra Academy, which offers easy-to-learn short video courses on security, compliance, and related topics of immense significance for today’s fast-growing companies.
Our solution offers substantial time and cost savings, including discounted audit fees, enabling fast and cost-effective compliance certification. Customers achieve continuous compliance as they grow, becoming certified under multiple frameworks through a single automation platform.
Build customer trust. Choose Akitra TODAY!To book your FREE DEMO, contact us right here.
FAQ’S
How is CAIQ different from SIG?
The CAIQ focuses specifically on cloud security, while SIG covers a broader range of topics, including operations, privacy, and governance.
Are NIST and ISO security questionnaires interchangeable?
Not exactly. NIST CSF offers a flexible framework for risk management, while ISO 27001 defines specific control requirements. However, they complement each other and often overlap.
Do vendors need to fill multiple questionnaires?
With automation tools like Akitra®, vendors can map responses once and reuse them across SIG, CAIQ, NIST, and ISO questionnaires — saving significant time.
What’s the benefit of using Akitra® for security questionnaires?
Akitra®’s platform automates questionnaire distribution, scoring, and framework mapping — ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all vendor assessments.
