Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology.
"With agile, vendor-neutral programs and a global network of industry experts, CSA is uniquely positioned to develop authoritative AI tools that address the real-world challenges of cloud service providers. Our focus on security-conscious innovation led to the creation of Valid-AI-ted and will continue to see us deliver forward-looking initiatives that will push the boundaries of secure, AI-driven technology," said Jim Reavis, CEO and co-founder, Cloud Security Alliance.
Free to CSA members, Valid-AI-ted leverages AI-driven evaluation and automatically grades cloud providers’ STAR Level 1 self-assessments, generating a detailed report with graded scores per question and domain, shared privately with the submitter. CSA members will be able to submit an unlimited number of times, while non-member providers can remediate and resubmit up to 10 times. Upon passing, they earn a distinctive STAR Level 1 Valid-AI-ted badge that can be displayed on both the CSA STAR Registry and their own platforms.
Ideal for cloud service providers seeking CSA STAR certification and existing STAR participants looking to upgrade transparency and trust credentials, Valid-AI-ted is unique in its automation of cloud security assessment using AI. It provides objective, accurate, and rapid validation of STAR Level 1 submissions—something no other cloud assurance framework currently offers at scale.
Compared to traditional STAR Level 1 evaluations, Valid-AI-ted provides:
- Improved assurance. Traditional STAR Level 1 self-assessments vary widely in the quality of CSP answers to CSA’s security questionnaire, which must be interpreted by customers. Valid-AI-ted provides assurance that the self-assessment was performed with care and achieved a robust security baseline
- Qualitative, best practices analysis. Valid-AI-ted enforces a standardized scoring model based upon proven implementation guidance from the Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM)
- More actionable insights. Regardless of whether they pass or fail, organizations receive granular feedback per control, highlighting areas for improvement
- Heightened recognition in the STAR Registry. Organizations with the STAR Level 1 Valid-AI-ted badge stand out to customers, partners, and regulators as having gone beyond checkbox compliance
- Easier access to continuous improvement. The ability to revise and resubmit is ideal for maturing organizations and provides an improved path towards STAR Level 2 third-party assessment solutions
The CSA STAR Registry is a publicly accessible registry that documents the security and privacy controls provided by popular cloud computing offerings. STAR encompasses the key principles of transparency, rigorous auditing, and harmonization of standards outlined in the CCM. Publishing to the registry allows organizations to show current and potential customers their security and compliance posture, including the regulations, standards, and frameworks they adhere to. It ultimately reduces complexity and helps alleviate the need to fill out multiple customer questionnaires.