3.13.10Manage your encryption keys

Keys are established and managed deliberately, not scattered in scripts.

SC
Level 2
1 pt
Rev. 3: Reworded

The requirement, verbatim

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 · 3.13.10
Establish and manage cryptographic keys for cryptography employed in organizational systems.

Requirement 3.13.10, practice name in the CMMC assessment guide: Key Management.

NIST's discussion

Cryptographic key management and establishment can be performed using manual procedures or mechanisms supported by manual procedures. Organizations define key management requirements in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, policies, directives, regulations, and standards specifying appropriate options, levels, and parameters.

NIST SP 800-56A and NIST SP 800-57-1 provide guidance on cryptographic key management and key establishment.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, discussion under 3.13.10. Whitespace normalised; wording unchanged.

Assessment objectives

An assessor decides each of these separately. The requirement is met only when every objective is.

[a] cryptographic keys are established when cryptography is employed
[b] cryptographic keys are managed when cryptography is employed

NIST SP 800-171A, determination statements for 3.13.10.

For assessors: examine, interview, test

NIST SP 800-171A names what an assessor may examine, whom they may interview, and what they may test for this requirement. Assessors select from these lists; they are not a checklist of everything you must produce.

Examine

System and communications protection policy
procedures addressing cryptographic key establishment and management
system security plan
system design documentation
cryptographic mechanisms
system configuration settings and associated documentation
system audit logs and records
other relevant documents or records

Interview

System or network administrators
personnel with information security responsibilities
personnel with responsibilities for cryptographic key establishment and management

Test

Mechanisms supporting or implementing cryptographic key establishment and management

NIST SP 800-171A, potential assessment methods and objects for 3.13.10.

Evidence

No evidence examples are published for this requirement yet. The objectives above are what an assessor checks; evidence is whatever shows each one is true in your environment, dated and kept with your system security plan.

Scoring weight

Worth 1 point. Not meeting this requirement subtracts 1 from your 110-point SPRS score.

DoD NIST SP 800-171 Assessment Methodology v1.2.1 weighting, as carried in the Bedrock scoring table. The score starts at 110 and subtracts the weight of every requirement not met.

In Rev. 3

Rev. 2 is what your contract requires today. A standing DoD class deviation keeps Rev. 2 in force; NIST has published Rev. 3, but it is not adopted for contracts. In Rev. 3 this requirement is reworded: 03.13.10 Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management. It gains organization-defined parameters.

See the Rev. 2 and Rev. 3 wording word by word, or start with the status page.

Where this page's facts come from

Requirement text: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.basicRequirement@rev2
Discussion: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.discussion@rev2
Practice name: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.title@rev2 (CMMC Assessment Guide practice name)
Objectives: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2
Examine, interview, test: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2 ({examineGuidance, interviewGuidance, testGuidance})
Level: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/021_fix_level1_requirements.sql#Requirement.cmmcLevel@rev2
Weight: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:internal/cmmc/requirement_values.go#requirementValues (DoD AM v1.2.1 / eMASS L2 template v3.8)
Rev. 3 mapping: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:docs/reference/nist-800-171-rev3/normalized/r2_r3_transition_map.json#r2_to_r3
Plain-language title and summary: editorial/CMMC Navigator.dc.html#RAW (Foxx Cyber editorial)