03.11.01
Risk Assessment
Apply risk assessment to identify, prioritize, scan, and respond to risks that could affect specified information for CPCSC Level 2 readiness.
CPCSC Level 2 Control
Last updated June 25, 2026
03.11.04Risk assessment
CPCSC Level 2 03.11.04: Risk Response
Apply risk response to identify, prioritize, scan, and respond to risks that could affect specified information for CPCSC Level 2 readiness. This guide separates the official ITSP.10.171 control language from practical implementation, evidence, auditor questions, and related controls.
Formal Control Language
Official ITSP.10.171 wording for 03.11.04. Use the Cyber Centre publication and contract requirements as the source of truth for certification, assessment, or procurement submissions.
- Respond to findings from security assessments, monitoring, and audits.
Contains information sourced from Government of Canada material used under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
What This Means In Plain English
Risk Response is part of the CPCSC Level 2 Risk assessment family. This is about turning risk identification into decisions: what matters, what is vulnerable, what is being fixed, and what leadership accepts.
For a founder, CISO, engineer, or compliance owner, the practical question is whether risk response is visible in real operating evidence: a setting, workflow, ticket, log, approval, review, or exception record that can survive an external assessment.
Level 2 is different from Level 1 because the evidence has to survive an external assessment. A policy statement helps, but the stronger answer is a record that shows who did the work, when it ran, what system setting or workflow enforced it, and how exceptions were handled.
How To Implement It
1
Define the in-scope systems, owners, users, vendors, and data flows affected by risk response.
2
Run scoped risk assessments, perform vulnerability scanning, rank findings, assign owners, track remediation, and document accepted residual risk.
3
Translate the formal requirement into one or two operating procedures: who performs it, how often, where it is recorded, and who approves exceptions.
4
Configure the relevant systems so the control is enforced by identity, endpoint, cloud, network, ticketing, monitoring, vendor, or documentation workflows rather than memory.
5
Keep evidence in a consistent folder, GRC system, ticket queue, or audit workspace so an assessor can trace the control from requirement to implementation to review.
Evidence Normally Gathered
Risk Response: risk assessment report.
Risk Response: risk register.
Risk Response: vulnerability scan results.
Risk Response: remediation tickets.
Risk Response: risk acceptance records.
Risk Response: leadership review notes.
Risk Response: owner assignment and review cadence.
Risk Response: exception, remediation, or POA&M records when the control is not fully implemented.
Common Auditor Questions
Where is risk response implemented in the in-scope environment?
Who owns risk response, and how do they know it is operating?
Show the evidence that proves risk response ran during the assessment period.
What happens when risk response fails, is bypassed, or has an exception?
How does this control connect to the system security plan, risk register, POA&M, and related CPCSC controls?
Sources
Source and attribution.
Formal control language is sourced from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security ITSP.10.171 publication. CPCSC Level 2 assessment context references the Government of Canada CPCSC program overview and ITSP.10.171-01 assessment guidance.
CPCSC Program OverviewITSP.10.171ITSP.10.171-01Open Government Licence - Canada