Free Reference: How to Answer Common Security Questions from Customers

When you're selling to enterprise or mid-market customers, you'll receive security questionnaires. These can have 50–150 questions covering your security practices, compliance certifications, incident response procedures, and more.

This guide provides reference answers to the most common security questionnaire items. Customize these for your organization and maintain them for quick, consistent responses.

Section 1: Organization & Security Program

Q: Do you have a documented information security program?

Answer:
Yes. Our organization maintains a comprehensive information security program that covers:

• Security policies and procedures
• Access control and authentication
• Incident response and breach notification
• Business continuity and disaster recovery
• Regular security training and awareness
• Third-party risk management
• Compliance with applicable regulatory requirements

Our security program is reviewed and updated annually or as needed when threats or business requirements change.

Q: Who is responsible for information security at your organization?

Answer:
[Name, Title] is responsible for overall information security strategy and governance. Our IT department, led by [Title], handles day-to-day security operations and incident response. Security responsibilities are distributed across teams with clear accountability.

Q: Do you have a security policy that covers acceptable use of systems?

Answer:
Yes. We maintain a comprehensive Acceptable Use Policy that covers:

• Appropriate use of company systems and data
• Prohibition on unauthorized access or data disclosure
• Consequences for policy violations
• Personal device security requirements
• Remote work security requirements

All employees acknowledge the policy during onboarding and annually thereafter.

Section 2: Access Control & Authentication

Q: How do you control access to sensitive data?

Answer:
We implement role-based access control (RBAC). Access is based on business need and job function:

• Data access is restricted to authorized personnel
• Access rights are reviewed quarterly
• Terminated employees' access is disabled immediately
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required for all privileged access
• All access attempts are logged and monitored

Q: Do you require strong passwords?

Answer:
Yes. Our password policy requires:

• Minimum 12 characters
• Complexity requirements (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols)
• Passwords must not reuse previous 5 passwords
• Passwords are reset every 90 days
• Account lockout after 5 failed login attempts
• Employees use password managers to securely store complex passwords

Q: Do you support multi-factor authentication (MFA)?

Answer:
Yes. MFA is required for:

• All remote access and VPN connections
• All administrative or privileged access
• Email access from external networks
• Any access to sensitive data systems

We support multiple MFA methods including authenticator apps (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator) and hardware tokens.

Q: What happens when an employee is terminated?

Answer:
Upon termination, we immediately:

1. Disable access to all systems within 24 hours
2. Revoke VPN and physical access credentials
3. Retrieve and secure any company devices
4. Reset passwords for shared accounts they may have used
5. Archive their email
6. Review for any lingering access or data

This is a documented off-boarding procedure with IT and HR accountability.

Section 3: Data Protection & Encryption

Q: Is data encrypted in transit?

Answer:
Yes. All data in transit is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher:

• All website traffic uses HTTPS/TLS
• API communications are encrypted
• Email communications with customers use TLS
• VPN connections use strong encryption protocols
• All third-party data transfers use encrypted channels

Q: Is data encrypted at rest?

Answer:
Yes. All sensitive data at rest is encrypted:

• Database encryption at the field or table level
• Backup encryption using AES-256
• Cloud storage encryption enabled
• File-level encryption for sensitive documents
• Encryption keys are managed securely and rotated regularly

Q: How do you handle data destruction/deletion?

Answer:
When data is no longer needed, we securely destroy it:

• Customer data is deleted from production systems per our retention policy
• Backups containing deleted data are retained for [X] months then deleted
• Hard drives containing sensitive data are physically destroyed by certified vendor
• Encryption keys for archived data are securely managed
• All deletions are documented and verified

Q: Do you have a Data Retention Policy?

Answer:
Yes. Our data retention policy specifies:

• Operational data is retained for [X] months
• Archived data is retained for [X] years (or as required by regulation)
• Deleted data cannot be recovered
• Customer data is deleted upon customer request
• Audit logs are retained per regulatory requirements

Section 4: Backup & Disaster Recovery

Q: How frequently do you backup data?

Answer:
We maintain multiple backup schedules:

• Full backups are taken daily
• Incremental backups are taken every [X] hours
• Backups are stored encrypted both on-site and off-site
• Backup integrity is verified daily
• Backup restoration is tested monthly

Q: What is your Recovery Time Objective (RTO)?

Answer:
Our RTO depends on the system:

• Critical systems: [X] hours (all services restored within this timeframe)
• Important systems: [X] hours
• Non-critical systems: [X] hours

We maintain redundancy to meet these objectives and test recovery regularly.

Q: What is your Recovery Point Objective (RPO)?

Answer:
Our RPO (maximum acceptable data loss):

• Critical systems: [X] hours maximum data loss (we backup every [X] hours)
• Important systems: [X] hours maximum data loss
• Non-critical systems: [X] hours maximum data loss

Our backup frequency is set to ensure we never exceed these RPO targets.

Q: Do you test disaster recovery procedures?

Answer:
Yes. We conduct quarterly disaster recovery tests:

• We restore systems to an alternate environment
• We verify data integrity after restoration
• We measure actual RTO and confirm it meets requirements
• We document results and any issues found
• We update the disaster recovery plan as needed

All DR test results are maintained on file.

Section 5: Monitoring & Logging

Q: Do you monitor systems for security incidents?

Answer:
Yes. We maintain 24/7 security monitoring:

• Centralized logging of all system activity
• Automated alerts for suspicious activity
• Network traffic analysis and monitoring
• Firewall and intrusion detection systems
• Regular log review and analysis
• Incident response team on-call for security events

Q: How long do you retain security logs?

Answer:
We retain security logs according to regulatory requirements:

• Authentication logs: [X] months
• System access logs: [X] months
• Network logs: [X] months
• Application audit logs: [X] months
• Logs are protected from unauthorized modification or deletion

Section 6: Incident Response & Breach Notification

Q: Do you have an incident response plan?

Answer:
Yes. Our documented incident response plan includes:

• Incident detection and alerting procedures
• Incident classification and severity assessment
• Incident containment and isolation procedures
• Forensic investigation procedures
• Notification procedures for customers and regulators
• Incident documentation and post-mortem review
• Recovery and restoration procedures

All staff with incident response responsibilities have been trained on the plan.

Q: What is your breach notification procedure?

Answer:
If a data breach occurs, we:

1. Immediately isolate affected systems (within 1 hour)
2. Begin forensic investigation to determine scope
3. Assess whether personal data was accessed or stolen
4. Notify affected customers within [X] hours if personal data was compromised
5. Notify relevant regulators as required (OCR, FTC, state attorneys general)
6. Provide free credit monitoring or other remediation as appropriate
7. Conduct post-incident review to prevent recurrence

We maintain breach notification procedures and contacts to ensure we meet all notification deadlines.

Q: How do you communicate security incidents to customers?

Answer:
We communicate security incidents through:

• Direct notification email to affected customers
• [Status page URL] showing incident status updates
• Phone support for customers with questions
• Detailed incident report after investigation completes
• Remediation steps we took to prevent recurrence

Section 7: Compliance & Certifications

Q: Are you SOC 2 compliant?

Answer:
Yes. We have successfully completed SOC 2 Type II audit covering [dates]. Our SOC 2 report is available under NDA from your procurement team.

Our SOC 2 audit covers:

• Security (CC) – Access controls, encryption, physical security
• Availability (A) – System uptime, monitoring, disaster recovery
• Processing Integrity (P) – Data accuracy and completeness
• Confidentiality (C) – Sensitive data protection
• Privacy (PI) – Personal data handling per privacy policies

Q: Are you HIPAA compliant? (if applicable)

Answer:
[If applicable] Yes. We are HIPAA compliant and maintain:

• Business Associate Agreements with all healthcare clients
• Documented administrative, physical, and technical safeguards
• Audit controls and breach notification procedures
• Regular security assessments and training
• Documentation available for audit purposes

Q: Are you PCI-DSS compliant? (if handling payment cards)

Answer:
[If applicable] Yes. We maintain PCI-DSS compliance and:

• Do not store full payment card data (processed by PCI-compliant third parties)
• Encrypt any payment card data in transit
• Maintain secure networks with firewalls and intrusion detection
• Meet all PCI-DSS Level [X] requirements

Q: What other certifications do you maintain?

Answer:
[Customize based on your organization]

• ISO 27001: [Yes/No, dates]
• GDPR compliance: [Yes/No, details]
• [Other relevant certifications]

Section 8: Third-Party Risk Management

Q: How do you manage third-party/vendor security?

Answer:
We maintain a vendor risk management program:

• All vendors are assessed for security before engagement
• Vendors are required to maintain appropriate security certifications (SOC 2, ISO, etc.)
• Data Processing Agreements and Business Associate Agreements are required
• Vendor access is restricted to necessary systems only
• Vendor access is reviewed quarterly
• Vendor performance and security are monitored
• Vendors are required to notify us of any security incidents

Q: Can you provide proof of vendor security?

Answer:
Yes. Upon request (under NDA), we can provide:

• SOC 2 audit reports for critical vendors
• Security questionnaire responses from vendors
• Vendor privacy policies and data handling agreements
• Vendor incident reports (if any incidents occurred)

How to Use This Guide

1. Customize for Your Organization:

• Replace [bracketed] sections with your organization's specific information
• Update timelines, procedures, and requirements based on your actual practices
• Add certifications or compliance requirements specific to your industry

1. Maintain Consistency:

• Save this customized version and use it as your master template
• Update it when your security practices change
• Use it to answer similar questions from different customers

1. Speed Up RFP Response:

• Most security questionnaires ask similar questions
• Keep this template accessible and ready to populate new questionnaires
• Most questions can be answered with copy-paste from this guide

1. Documentation:

• Maintain supporting documentation for each answer
• Have logs, policies, certifications readily available
• Be prepared to provide evidence of your claims

Next Steps

Ready to standardize your security questionnaire responses?
Use this guide to build a reusable internal response library that includes:

• 50+ common security questions
• Reference answers customized for different business types
• Evidence checklist (what documents you need to support your answers)

Need help with security compliance?
Schedule a consultation to review your incident response procedures and security program.

Schedule Compliance Consultation