As CISOs and compliance leaders plan their 2026 roadmaps, major compliance frameworks, including SOC, CMMC, and ISO 27001, are evolving in important ways. While these updates aren’t complete overhauls, each framework is raising the bar for governance, evidence management, and continuous control performance. Understanding these upcoming changes allows organizations to plan proactively and avoid last-minute compliance challenges. Here’s a concise overview of what’s next for the leading compliance frameworks.
SOC in 2026: Strengthening Your Compliance Frameworks
As organizations mature their internal control environments, SOC 1 and SOC 2 examinations are expected to put greater emphasis on evidence integrity, continuous control operations, and structured governance practices in 2026. While the Trust Services Criteria (TSC) remain the foundation of SOC reporting, both how organizations demonstrate compliance and how auditors assess it continue to evolve.
A clear trend is the move toward complete, traceable, and consistently collected evidence throughout the entire review period, particularly for SOC 2 Type II examinations. Auditors increasingly expect to see:
- Time-stamped, source-verified logs
- Evidence aligned with documented procedures
- Clear mapping of artifacts to controls and criteria
- Full-period coverage for recurring activities such as access reviews, log reviews, vulnerability scans, and backups
Organizations relying on “point-in-time cleanup” before audits may struggle. SOC examinations are reinforcing that continuous compliance, not just annual preparation, is essential.
Governance will also be a critical focus in 2026. Auditors expect strong alignment between leadership activities and the control environment, including:
- Regular risk committee meetings
- Documented leadership decisions
- Consistent tracking of remediation items
- Updated policies and ownership matrices
- Evidence of cross-functional engagement
This aligns with TSC areas like CC1.x, CC2.x, and CC3.x, where tone at the top, risk assessment discipline, and monitoring activities directly influence control effectiveness.
Cloud-first environments are another growing area of auditor attention. Many 2025 SOC examinations revealed documentation gaps related to cloud configuration management, access governance, logging, and third-party dependency management. In 2026, organizations should expect auditors to request:
- Cloud configuration baselines
- Evidence of continuous monitoring
- Third-party assurance, including SOC reports, SLAs, and security commitments
- Documentation distinguishing inherited versus shared responsibilities
Overall, SOC in 2026 will be defined by evidence discipline, governance maturity, and operational consistency. Organizations that invest in continuous monitoring, structured evidence workflows, and strong oversight will enter the audit cycle with reduced risk and greater confidence, strengthening their compliance frameworks for the year ahead.
CMMC in 2026: Strengthening Your compliance frameworks
CMMC 2.0 continues progressing toward full implementation, and 2026 will be a pivotal year for organizations handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). While the formal enforcement timeline remains fluid, contractors should expect more frequent assessments, higher scrutiny of NIST SP 800-171 evidence, and increased government focus on supply-chain assurance.
The biggest shift will be the rise of C3PAO-led Level 2 assessments, especially for organizations supporting contracts with sensitive CUI. Assessors will continue prioritizing:
- Complete and accurate SPRS scores
- Evidence supporting each NIST SP 800-171 control
- Documented and up-to-date System Security Plans (SSPs)
- Validated POA&Ms for remaining gaps
- Clear ownership for each requirement
Organizations relying solely on policy statements or assumed practices may struggle. CMMC assessments require observable, time-stamped evidence, not interpretations of intent.
Another significant development is the tightening of POA&M limitations. CMMC 2.0 already defines which controls may be deferred and how many points may remain open. In 2026, organizations should anticipate:
- More rigorous review of POA&M justification
- Tighter remediation windows
- Greater scrutiny of high-impact controls
- Increased assessor focus on how POA&M items affect overall risk
Supply-chain and subcontractor oversight will also rise in importance. DFARS requires organizations to flow down obligations to subcontractors, and auditors increasingly expect:
- Documentation of subcontractor compliance commitments
- Verification of vendor alignment with NIST SP 800-171
- Contractual evidence supporting flow-down language
- Risk-based monitoring of supply-chain partners
Many contractors underestimate the weight assessors place on governance and repeatability. In 2026, assessors will closely evaluate whether:
- Controls operate consistently across months and quarters
- Evidence is collected systematically, not ad hoc
- Leadership reviews occur at defined cadences
- Risk assessments reflect current business changes
- Incidents, vulnerabilities, and escalations are tracked with discipline
Overall, CMMC in 2026 will reward organizations that treat compliance as a continuous program, not a one-time certification. Those who invest in control maturity, documentation accuracy, and structured evidence collection will enter assessments with stronger footing, reinforcing their security framework for the year ahead.
ISO 27001 in 2026: Enhancing Your compliance frameworks
By 2026, most organizations will have fully transitioned to ISO 27001:2022, and auditors will expect not only updated Annex A controls but also meaningful operational integration. The shift from ISO 27001:2013 to 2022 places greater emphasis on risk alignment, measurement, and continuous improvement. Certification bodies increasingly focus on whether organizations can demonstrate control performance, not just produce policy documents.
A key trend for 2026 is the expectation that ISO controls function as part of a cohesive information security management system (ISMS), rather than as isolated tasks. Auditors will continue to focus on:
- KPIs and measurable objectives tied to specific risks
- Leadership involvement in ISMS oversight
- Results of monitoring, measurement, and internal audits
- Documented treatment of incidents, vulnerabilities, and supplier risks
- Continuous improvement practices aligned with Clause 10
Organizations that treat ISO as “policy-first” rather than “operations-first” may face findings during 2026 surveillance or recertification audits.
The transition to ISO 27001:2022 also introduces new control themes, such as threat intelligence, cloud services, and secure coding, that auditors expect organizations to implement practically and with evidence. In 2026, assessors will look for:
- Defined processes for collecting and acting on threat intelligence
- Clear shared responsibility models for cloud providers
- Documented secure development practices
- Structured supplier evaluation and re-evaluation cycles
- Evidence demonstrating that controls are regularly reviewed and refined
Supply-chain assurance continues to be a growing focus. Auditors will expect organizations to demonstrate:
- Supplier risk ratings
- Contractual security requirements
- Monitoring results and remediation follow-ups
- Supplier performance reviews linked to ISMS objectives
Organizations preparing for 2026 audits will succeed by aligning ISO activities with real-world risk drivers. The strongest ISMS programs will demonstrate not only control implementation but also leadership engagement, operational integration, and measurable improvement, reinforcing a robust security framework for the year ahead.
Final Thoughts: Elevating Your compliance frameworks in 2026
In 2026, the focus will be less on “new rules” and more on maturing expectations across major frameworks. SOC, CMMC, and ISO are converging around key themes:
- Evidence integrity
- Governance transparency
- Continuous control performance
- Predictable execution of security controls
Organizations that start planning now, by tightening documentation, strengthening governance, validating control performance, and improving evidence quality, will enter 2026 with clarity, confidence, and a stronger compliance frameworks. By taking these steps today, contact rsassure to stay ahead of evolving compliance expectations and reduce audit risks.
Take action now: review your controls, document evidence consistently, and ensure your security framework is audit-ready, your future compliance success depends on it.
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