What is the primary objective of **HITRUST CSF**?

**The primary objective of HITRUST CSF is to provide a certifiable, threat-adaptive control library that harmonizes requirements from over 60 authoritative sources into a single assurance program.** This enables organizations to assess once and report many times across regulations, using risk-based tailoring via organizational, system, and regulatory factors, a maturity model (Policy, Procedure, Implemented, Measured, Managed), and the MyCSF platform for standardized validation.

Who is legally or professionally required to comply with **HITRUST CSF**?

**No organization is legally required to comply with HITRUST CSF, as it is a voluntary, certifiable framework.** It is professionally required by healthcare covered entities, business associates, payers, providers, and vendors handling ePHI/PHI through contractual mandates, particularly for third-party assurance in ecosystems demanding standardized reports via RDS.

Does **HITRUST CSF** require an external audit or third-party certification?

**Yes, HITRUST CSF requires validated assessments by Authorized External Assessors for certification, followed by HITRUST centralized quality assurance.** Self-assessments via MyCSF support readiness, but e1, i1 (1-year validity), and r2 (2-year with interim) certifications demand evidence-based testing across 19 domains, including documentation review, interviews, and technical testing.

How often should an assessment for **HITRUST CSF** be performed?

**HITRUST CSF validated assessments must be performed according to certification validity: annually for e1 and i1, and every two years for r2 with a required interim assessment at one year.** MyCSF enables continuous monitoring, CAP tracking, and readiness checks to maintain maturity between cycles.

What are the consequences of non-compliance with **HITRUST CSF**?

**Non-compliance with HITRUST CSF results in no direct legal penalties, as it is voluntary, but leads to failed certification, rejected third-party reports, and lost contracts in healthcare ecosystems.** Organizations face increased customer audits, higher TPRM costs, and exclusion from payer/provider mandates requiring validated assurance.

Can **HITRUST CSF** be mapped to other international frameworks?

**Yes, HITRUST CSF includes built-in mappings to over 60 frameworks, enabling requirement-level results to roll up into reports for HIPAA, NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27001/27002, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and GDPR.** MyCSF generates tailored scorecards for "assess once, report many" across these sources without separate audits.

What is the first step to begin implementing **HITRUST CSF**?

**The first step to implement HITRUST CSF is to access MyCSF, complete the scoping questionnaire using organizational, system, and regulatory risk factors to generate a tailored control set.** This identifies applicable requirements across 19 domains, inheritance opportunities, and gaps for readiness assessment.

What is the primary objective of **BRC**?

**The primary objective of BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety is to ensure the production of safe, legal, authentic, and quality-assured food products through a structured management system.** It combines senior management commitment with a Codex HACCP-based food safety plan and prerequisite programs (GMP/GHP) to control contamination, mislabelling, food fraud, and operational risks across manufacturing, processing, and packing.

Who is legally or professionally required to comply with **BRC**?

**BRC compliance is professionally required for food manufacturers, processors, and packers supplying major retailers, as it is a GFSI-benchmarked standard mandated by global retail supply chains.** It applies to sites producing processed foods, ingredients, primary products like fruit/vegetables, and domestic pet foods under direct management control; retailers and brand owners enforce it for market access, not legal mandate.

Does **BRC** require an external audit or third-party certification?

**Yes, BRC requires mandatory external audits by accredited certification bodies, resulting in third-party certification valid for one year.** Audits are site-specific, covering announced or unannounced options, with grading (AA/A/B/C/D, + for unannounced) based on non-conformance severity; fundamental clauses must fully comply for certification.

How often should an assessment for **BRC** be performed?

**BRC certification mandates annual on-site audits by certification bodies, supplemented by internal audits at least four times yearly.** Internal audits must cover all clauses with risk-based frequency, full annual scope, and root cause analysis for non-conformities; management reviews occur at least annually.

What are the consequences of non-compliance with **BRC**?

**Non-compliance with BRC results in audit grading downgrades, certification suspension or withdrawal, and loss of retailer supply chain access.** Critical/major non-conformities in fundamental clauses (e.g., HACCP, traceability) prevent certification; repeated failures increase audit frequency and trigger corrective actions with strict closure deadlines.

Can **BRC** be mapped to other international frameworks?

**Yes, BRC maps effectively to GFSI-benchmarked frameworks, providing a strong foundation for regulatory alignment like FSMA Preventive Controls.** Its HACCP, prerequisite programs, and governance exceed or match requirements in comparable schemes, though adaptations for terminology (e.g., PCQI designation) may be needed.

What is the first step to begin implementing **BRC**?

**The first step to implement BRC is securing senior management commitment through a signed food safety policy and establishing a multidisciplinary project team.** Conduct a gap analysis using BRC's Get Started Assessment Tool against the nine Issue 8 clauses (or Issue 9), prioritizing fundamental requirements like HACCP and site standards.

HITRUST CSF vs BRC

Standards Comparison

HITRUST CSF

Voluntary

2022

Certifiable framework harmonizing 60+ security standards

BRC

Voluntary

2022

GFSI-benchmarked global standard for food safety certification

Quick Verdict

HITRUST CSF delivers certifiable cybersecurity assurance for healthcare and regulated industries via maturity-scored assessments, while BRC provides GFSI-benchmarked food safety certification for manufacturers through rigorous on-site audits. Organizations adopt them for trusted third-party validation and market access.

Information Security

HITRUST CSF

HITRUST Common Security Framework

Cost

€€€€

Complexity

Medium

Implementation Time

6-12 months

Key Features

Harmonizes 60+ frameworks for assess-once-report-many
Risk-based tailoring via structured organizational factors
Five-level maturity model from policy to managed
MyCSF platform for automated scoping and evidence
Tiered certifications e1/i1/r2 with inheritance support

Food Safety

BRC

BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety

Cost

€€€€

Complexity

High

Implementation Time

6-12 months

Key Features

Codex HACCP-based food safety plan
Senior management commitment fundamentals
Environmental monitoring and risk zoning
GFSI-benchmarked retailer certification
Unannounced audits for culture verification

Detailed Analysis

A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.

HITRUST CSF Details

What It Is

HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) is a certifiable, threat-adaptive control framework harmonizing requirements from 60+ standards like ISO 27001, NIST 800-53, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR. It uses a risk-based approach with structured tailoring via organizational, system, and regulatory factors for scalable assurance.

Key Components

19 assessment domains covering governance, technical controls, and resilience.
Hierarchical structure: 14 categories, ~49 objectives, ~156 specifications.
**Five-level maturity modelPolicy, Procedure, Implemented, Measured, Managed.
**Tiered certificationse1 (44 controls), i1 (182 requirements), r2 (tailored, 2-year).
MyCSF platform for scoping, evidence, and remediation.

Why Organizations Use It

Rationalizes multi-regulatory compliance (assess once, report many).
Provides credible third-party assurance via centralized HITRUST review.
Reduces breach risk (99.4% certified breach-free) and TPRM costs.
Enables market differentiation, insurance savings, faster sales in healthcare/finance.

Implementation Overview

Multi-phase: scoping/gap analysis, remediation, validated assessment by Authorized Assessors. Applies to regulated industries handling sensitive data; requires evidence of operational maturity. Involves MyCSF, inheritance from clouds, CAPs; 6-18 months typical.

BRC Details

What It Is

The BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety (Issue 9) is a GFSI-benchmarked third-party certification framework for food manufacturers, processors, packers, and related supply-chain activities. It ensures product safety, legality, authenticity, and quality via a structured management system emphasizing senior management commitment, Codex HACCP-based plans, and robust prerequisite programs (GMP/GHP).

Key Components

Nine core clauses: 1) Senior management commitment, 2) HACCP food safety plan, 3) Quality management system, 4) Site standards, 5) Product control, 6) Process control, 7) Personnel, plus risk zones and traded products. Features fundamental requirements (e.g., traceability, allergens, internal audits) with grading (AA/A/B/C/D) via annual announced/unannounced audits.

Why Organizations Use It

Mandated by retailers for supply-chain access; reduces audits, evidences due diligence, mitigates recalls (allergens, pathogens, labelling). Builds resilience, trust, and market credibility; aligns with FSMA/legislation.

Implementation Overview

Phased: gap analysis, documentation, training, internal audits, certification. Targets food sector globally; 6-12 months typical, requires CAPEX for facilities/training/audits.

Key Differences

Aspect	HITRUST CSF	BRC
Scope	Information security/privacy controls across 19 domains	Food safety, quality, legality in manufacturing/processing
Industry	Healthcare, regulated sectors, industry-agnostic	Food manufacturing, packaging, storage/distribution
Nature	Voluntary certifiable security framework	GFSI-benchmarked food safety certification standard
Testing	Maturity-scored validated assessments via MyCSF	Annual on-site audits, announced/unannounced
Penalties	Loss of certification, no legal penalties	Certification suspension/denial, market access loss

Scope

HITRUST CSF

Information security/privacy controls across 19 domains

BRC

Food safety, quality, legality in manufacturing/processing

Industry

HITRUST CSF

Healthcare, regulated sectors, industry-agnostic

BRC

Food manufacturing, packaging, storage/distribution

Nature

HITRUST CSF

Voluntary certifiable security framework

BRC

GFSI-benchmarked food safety certification standard

Testing

HITRUST CSF

Maturity-scored validated assessments via MyCSF

BRC

Annual on-site audits, announced/unannounced

Penalties

HITRUST CSF

Loss of certification, no legal penalties

BRC

Certification suspension/denial, market access loss

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HITRUST CSF and BRC

HITRUST CSF FAQ

BRC FAQ

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HITRUST CSF

BRC

Quick Verdict

HITRUST CSF

Key Features

BRC

Key Features

Detailed Analysis

HITRUST CSF Details

What It Is

Key Components

Why Organizations Use It

Implementation Overview

BRC Details

What It Is

Key Components

Why Organizations Use It

Implementation Overview

Key Differences

Scope

Industry

Nature

Testing

Penalties

Frequently Asked Questions

HITRUST CSF FAQ

What is the primary objective of HITRUST CSF?

Who is legally or professionally required to comply with HITRUST CSF?

Does HITRUST CSF require an external audit or third-party certification?

How often should an assessment for HITRUST CSF be performed?

What are the consequences of non-compliance with HITRUST CSF?

Can HITRUST CSF be mapped to other international frameworks?

What is the first step to begin implementing HITRUST CSF?

BRC FAQ

What is the primary objective of BRC?

Who is legally or professionally required to comply with BRC?

Does BRC require an external audit or third-party certification?

How often should an assessment for BRC be performed?

What are the consequences of non-compliance with BRC?

Can BRC be mapped to other international frameworks?

What is the first step to begin implementing BRC?

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NIST CSF 2.0 Govern Function Deep Dive: Building Executive Cybersecurity Governance from Scratch

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Run Maturity Assessments with GRADUM

Check out these other Gradum.io Standards Comparison Pages

NIS2 vs BRC

SOC 2 vs COBIT

GMP vs GLBA