FedRAMP Low/ NIST 800-53

Overview

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services.” FedRAMP compliance is comprised of three “impact” levels, referring to the severity of a potential impact that may occur given a security incident. The official resources for FedRAMP can be found here.

Secberus currently supports the FedRAMP low impact level.

Supported FedRAMP Low Impact Controls

FedRAMP is based on the NIST 800-53 framework, so the descriptions listed below are written by NIST. The source documentation for these controls can be found here.

Control ID	Control Name	NIST Control Description
AC-2	Account Management	a. Define and document the types of accounts allowed and specifically prohibited for use within the system; b. Assign account managers; c. Require [Assignment: organization-defined prerequisites and criteria] for group and role membership; d. Specify: 1. Authorized users of the system; 2. Group and role membership; and 3. Access authorizations (i.e., privileges) and [Assignment: organization-defined attributes (as required)] for each account; e. Require approvals by [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] for requests to create accounts; f. Create, enable, modify, disable, and remove accounts in accordance with [Assignment: organization-defined policy, procedures, prerequisites, and criteria]; g. Monitor the use of accounts; h. Notify account managers and [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] within: 4. [Assignment: organization-defined time period] when accounts are no longer required; 5. [Assignment: organization-defined time period] when users are terminated or transferred; and 6. [Assignment: organization-defined time period] when system usage or need-to-know changes for an individual; i. Authorize access to the system based on: 7. A valid access authorization; 8. Intended system usage; and 9. [Assignment: organization-defined attributes (as required)]; j. Review accounts for compliance with account management requirements [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]; k. Establish and implement a process for changing shared or group account authenticators (if deployed) when individuals are removed from the group; and l. Align account management processes with personnel termination and transfer processes.
AC-20	Use of External Information Systems	a. [Selection (one or more): Establish [Assignment: organization-defined terms and conditions]; Identify [Assignment: organization-defined controls asserted to be implemented on external systems]], consistent with the trust relationships established with other organizations owning, operating, and/or maintaining external systems, allowing authorized individuals to: 1. Access the system from external systems; and 2. Process, store, or transmit organization-controlled information using external systems; or b. Prohibit the use of [Assignment: organizationally-defined types of external systems].
AC-22	Publicly Accessible Content	a. Designate individuals authorized to make information publicly accessible; b. Train authorized individuals to ensure that publicly accessible information does not contain nonpublic information; c. Review the proposed content of information prior to posting onto the publicly accessible system to ensure that nonpublic information is not included; and d. Review the content on the publicly accessible system for nonpublic information [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and remove such information, if discovered.
AU-2	Audit Events	a. Identify the types of events that the system is capable of logging in support of the audit function: [Assignment: organization-defined event types that the system is capable of logging]; b. Coordinate the event logging function with other organizational entities requiring audit-related information to guide and inform the selection criteria for events to be logged; c. Specify the following event types for logging within the system: [Assignment: organization-defined event types (subset of the event types defined in AU-2a.) along with the frequency of (or situation requiring) logging for each identified event type]; d. Provide a rationale for why the event types selected for logging are deemed to be adequate to support after-the-fact investigations of incidents; and e. Review and update the event types selected for logging [Assignment: organization-defined frequency].
AU-3	Content of Audit Records	Ensure that audit records contain information that establishes the following: a. What type of event occurred; b. When the event occurred; c. Where the event occurred; d. Source of the event; e. Outcome of the event; and f. Identity of any individuals, subjects, or objects/entities associated with the event.
AU-8	Time Stamps	a. Use internal system clocks to generate time stamps for audit records; and b. Record time stamps for audit records that meet [Assignment: organization-defined granularity of time measurement] and that use Coordinated Universal Time, have a fixed local time offset from Coordinated Universal Time, or that include the local time offset as part of the time stamp.
AU-9	Protection of Audit Information	a. Protect audit information and audit logging tools from unauthorized access, modification, and deletion; and b. Alert [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] upon detection of unauthorized access, modification, or deletion of audit information.
CM-6	Configuration Settings	a. Establish and document configuration settings for components employed within the system that reflect the most restrictive mode consistent with operational requirements using [Assignment: organization-defined common secure configurations]; b. Implement the configuration settings; c. Identify, document, and approve any deviations from established configuration settings for [Assignment: organization-defined system components] based on [Assignment: organization-defined operational requirements]; and d. Monitor and control changes to the configuration settings in accordance with organizational policies and procedures.
CM-7	Least Functionality	a. Configure the system to provide only [Assignment: organization-defined mission essential capabilities]; and b. Prohibit or restrict the use of the following functions, ports, protocols, software, and/or services: [Assignment: organization-defined prohibited or restricted functions, system ports, protocols, software, and/or services].
CP-2	Contingency Plan	Coordinate the contingency plan with the contingency plans of external service providers to ensure that contingency requirements can be satisfied.
CP-9	Information System Backup	a. Conduct backups of user-level information contained in [Assignment: organization-defined system components] [Assignment: organization-defined frequency consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives]; b. Conduct backups of system-level information contained in the system [Assignment: organization-defined frequency consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives]; c. Conduct backups of system documentation, including security- and privacy-related documentation [Assignment: organization-defined frequency consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives]; and d. Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of backup information.
IA-1	Identification and Authentication Policy and Procedures	a. Develop, document, and disseminate to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles]: 1. [Selection (one or more): Organization-level; Mission/business process-level; System-level] identification and authentication policy that: (a) Addresses purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, management commitment, coordination among organizational entities, and compliance; and (b) Is consistent with applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines; and 2. Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the identification and authentication policy and the associated identification and authentication controls; b. Designate an [Assignment: organization-defined official] to manage the development, documentation, and dissemination of the identification and authentication policy and procedures; and c. Review and update the current identification and authentication: 3. Policy [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and following [Assignment: organization-defined events]; and 4. Procedures [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and following [Assignment: organization-defined events].
IA-2	Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)	Uniquely identify and authenticate organizational users and associate that unique identification with processes acting on behalf of those users.
IA-4	Identifier Management	Manage system identifiers by: a. Receiving authorization from [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] to assign an individual, group, role, service, or device identifier; b. Selecting an identifier that identifies an individual, group, role, service, or device; c. Assigning the identifier to the intended individual, group, role, service, or device; and d. Preventing reuse of identifiers for [Assignment: organization-defined time period].
IA-5	Authenticator Management	Manage system authenticators by: a. Verifying, as part of the initial authenticator distribution, the identity of the individual, group, role, service, or device receiving the authenticator; b. Establishing initial authenticator content for any authenticators issued by the organization; c. Ensuring that authenticators have sufficient strength of mechanism for their intended use; d. Establishing and implementing administrative procedures for initial authenticator distribution, for lost or compromised or damaged authenticators, and for revoking authenticators; e. Changing default authenticators prior to first use; f. Changing or refreshing authenticators [Assignment: organization-defined time period by authenticator type] or when [Assignment: organization-defined events] occur; g. Protecting authenticator content from unauthorized disclosure and modification; h. Requiring individuals to take, and having devices implement, specific controls to protect authenticators; and i. Changing authenticators for group or role accounts when membership to those accounts changes.
IA-5(1)	Authenticator Management \| Password-Based Authentication	For password-based authentication: (a) Maintain a list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords and update the list [Assignment: organization-defined frequency] and when organizational passwords are suspected to have been compromised directly or indirectly; (b) Verify, when users create or update passwords, that the passwords are not found on the list of commonly-used, expected, or compromised passwords in IA-5(1)(a); (c) Transmit passwords only over cryptographically-protected channels; (d) Store passwords using an approved salted key derivation function, preferably using a keyed hash; (e) Require immediate selection of a new password upon account recovery; (f) Allow user selection of long passwords and passphrases, including spaces and all printable characters; (g) Employ automated tools to assist the user in selecting strong password authenticators; and (h) Enforce the following composition and complexity rules: [Assignment: organization-defined composition and complexity rules].
SC-7	Boundary Protection	a. Monitor and control communications at the external managed interfaces to the system and at key internal managed interfaces within the system; b. Implement subnetworks for publicly accessible system components that are [Selection: physically; logically] separated from internal organizational networks; and c. Connect to external networks or systems only through managed interfaces consisting of boundary protection devices arranged in accordance with an organizational security and privacy architecture.
SC-12	Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management	Establish and manage cryptographic keys when cryptography is employed within the system in accordance with the following key management requirements: [Assignment: organization-defined requirements for key generation, distribution, storage, access, and destruction].
SC-13	Cryptographic Protection	a. Determine the [Assignment: organization-defined cryptographic uses]; and b. Implement the following types of cryptography required for each specified cryptographic use: [Assignment: organization-defined types of cryptography for each specified cryptographic use].
SI-4	Information System Monitoring	a. Monitor the system to detect: 1. Attacks and indicators of potential attacks in accordance with the following monitoring objectives: [Assignment: organization-defined monitoring objectives]; and 2. Unauthorized local, network, and remote connections; b. Identify unauthorized use of the system through the following techniques and methods: [Assignment: organization-defined techniques and methods]; c. Invoke internal monitoring capabilities or deploy monitoring devices: 3. Strategically within the system to collect organization-determined essential information; and 4. At ad hoc locations within the system to track specific types of transactions of interest to the organization; d. Analyze detected events and anomalies; e. Adjust the level of system monitoring activity when there is a change in risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation; f. Obtain legal opinion regarding system monitoring activities; and g. Provide [Assignment: organization-defined system monitoring information] to [Assignment: organization-defined personnel or roles] [Selection (one or more): as needed; [Assignment: organization-defined frequency]].

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If there is a specific requirement not included here that you would like to monitor, please email [email protected].