---
title: Essential Contacts should be configured for organization
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > OOTB Rules > Essential Contacts should be configured
  for organization
---

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.datadoghq.com/llms.txt).

# Essential Contacts should be configured for organization
 
## Description{% #description %}

This rule fails when a GCP organization has no Essential Contacts configured at the organization scope, or when its organization-level contacts do not collectively cover the four notification categories Google sends from: `LEGAL`, `SECURITY`, `SUSPENSION`, and `TECHNICAL` (or a single contact subscribed to `ALL`). Without this coverage, security advisories and account-suspension notices can reach the wrong inbox or be missed entirely.

The check is evaluated against each `gcp_organization` and joins to `gcp_essentialcontacts_contact` records whose `parent` is `//cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/organizations/<organization_id>` or whose `name` starts with `organizations/<organization_id>/contacts/`. Project-level and folder-level contacts do not satisfy the control. Contacts whose `validation_state` is `INVALID` are excluded from coverage because Google has flagged the email as undeliverable; notifications would not arrive even though the contact is technically configured.

## Remediation{% #remediation %}

Follow [Manage Essential Contacts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/resource-manager/docs/manage-essential-contacts) to add organization-level contacts for `LEGAL`, `SECURITY`, `SUSPENSION`, and `TECHNICAL`, or add one contact subscribed to `ALL`. If a contact is marked `INVALID`, correct its email address or have it re-validated.

## References{% #references %}

- [CIS Google Cloud Platform Foundation Benchmark](https://www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/google_cloud_computing_platform)
- [Managing Essential Contacts notification categories](https://docs.cloud.google.com/resource-manager/docs/managing-notification-contacts)