Compliance Framework Alignment

ASCEND maps its technical controls to major regulatory and compliance frameworks. ASCEND is not itself certified or assessed against these frameworks — formal certification requires third-party auditor engagement. The mappings below show how the platform's architecture aligns to each framework so your organization can use ASCEND's controls and evidence in its own audits.

Framework Alignment Overview

Framework	Alignment	Primary Use
SOC 2 Type II	Architected to SOC 2 Type II controls	Enterprise
PCI-DSS v4.0	PCI-DSS-aligned controls	Financial Services
HIPAA	HIPAA-aligned architecture	Healthcare
NIST AI RMF	Aligned to NIST AI RMF	AI Governance
ISO 27001	ISO 27001-aligned controls	International
GDPR	GDPR-aligned data handling	EU Data Protection
NIST 800-53	Application-layer control families mapped	Government / Federal-adjacent

note

Alignment reflects control implementation mapped to each framework. Alignment does not constitute certification — formal certification requires third-party auditor engagement.

SOC 2 Type II

Trust Service Criteria Mapping

Control	Description	ASCEND Control
CC6.1	Logical Access Security	6-level RBAC with JWT authentication
CC6.2	Access Provisioning	User provisioning workflows
CC6.3	Access Revocation	Access removal procedures
CC6.6	External Access	API key + JWT validation
CC6.7	Data Transmission	TLS 1.3
CC7.2	System Monitoring	CloudWatch integration, real-time alerts
CC7.3	Incident Detection	Anomaly detection, circuit breakers

Key Implementations

• Access Control: 6-level RBAC with JWT authentication
• Encryption: TLS 1.3, AES-256-GCM
• Audit Logging: Hash-chained immutable logs
• Monitoring: CloudWatch integration, real-time alerts

PCI-DSS v4.0

Requirements Mapping

Requirement	Description	ASCEND Control
3.5	Protect Cryptographic Keys	AWS KMS with BYOK support
4.2	Strong Cryptography in Transit	TLS 1.3
6.2	Secure Development	Automated security testing in CI/CD
7.1	Access Controls	RBAC, approval levels
8.x	User Authentication	MFA, password policies
10.x	Audit Logging	Immutable event logging

HIPAA

Technical Safeguards (164.312) Mapping

Standard	Requirement	ASCEND Control
164.312(a)	Access Control	RBAC with organization scoping
164.312(b)	Audit Controls	WORM audit logs
164.312(c)	Integrity	Hash-chained immutable logs
164.312(d)	Authentication	MFA, JWT validation
164.312(e)	Transmission Security	TLS 1.3

Business Associate Agreements are available for enterprise customers (contact sales).

NIST AI RMF

ASCEND is aligned to the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.

Function Mapping

Function	Category	ASCEND Control
GOVERN	AI governance framework	Configurable policy engine
GOVERN	Accountability structure	RBAC + immutable audit trail
MAP	AI system context	Agent registry + topology
MAP	Risk categorization	Risk scoring (CVSS/NIST/MITRE)
MEASURE	Risk measurement	DB-generated risk scores
MEASURE	Evaluation tracking	Policy evaluation logging
MANAGE	Risk prioritization	HITL approval workflow
MANAGE	Risk response	Per-tenant kill-switch

Key Implementations

• Policy Engine: Configurable governance rules
• Risk Scoring: CVSS/NIST/MITRE for AI actions (DB-generated)
• Kill Switch: Per-tenant agent termination (kill-switch decision p99 = 17.03ms, CloudWatch, 30 samples, June 2, 2026; agent stop within one poll cycle)
• Audit Trail: Immutable decision logging

Available Documentation

For compliance audits and security questionnaires:

Document	Purpose
Security Architecture	Technical security design
Test Coverage	Verification evidence
Audit Summary	Platform architecture summary

Contact

Compliance Team: compliance@ascendowkai.com

Security Team: security@ascendowkai.com