Glossary
What is the CAIQ?
The CAIQ (Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire) is a standardized questionnaire from the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) that lets a cloud service provider document which security controls it has in place. Its questions map to the CSA’s Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM), so buyers can assess a cloud vendor against a widely recognized control framework.
How it works
The CAIQ presents yes/no questions derived from the Cloud Controls Matrix, with room for explanatory notes. A completed CAIQ becomes a reusable artifact a provider can share with prospective customers, and CSA’s STAR registry publishes CAIQ submissions for many providers.
CAIQ and the Cloud Controls Matrix
The CCM is the underlying control framework; the CAIQ is the questionnaire that assesses conformance to it. Because both are maintained by the CSA and updated together, aligning your evidence to CCM domains makes answering a CAIQ far more direct.