CMMC Navigatorby Foxx Cyber Bedrock CMMC

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3.5.1Give every user, process, and device an identity

Named accounts and identifiers, not anonymous access.

The requirement, verbatim

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 · 3.5.1

Identify system users, processes acting on behalf of users, and devices.

Requirement 3.5.1, practice name in the CMMC assessment guide: Identification.

NIST's discussion

Common device identifiers include media access control (MAC), Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, or device-unique token identifiers. Management of individual identifiers is not applicable to shared system accounts. Typically, individual identifiers are the user names associated with the system accounts assigned to those individuals. Organizations may require unique identification of individuals in group accounts or for detailed accountability of individual activity. In addition, this requirement addresses individual identifiers that are not necessarily associated with system accounts. Organizational devices requiring identification may be defined by type, by device, or by a combination of type/device. NIST SP 800-63-3 provides guidance on digital identities.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, discussion under 3.5.1. Whitespace normalised; wording unchanged.

Assessment objectives

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

  1. [a] system users are identified
  2. [b] processes acting on behalf of users are identified
  3. [c] devices accessing the system are identified

NIST SP 800-171A, determination statements for 3.5.1.

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
  • Identification and authentication policy
  • procedures addressing user identification and authentication
  • system security plan, system design documentation
  • system configuration settings and associated documentation
  • system audit logs and records
  • list of system accounts
  • other relevant documents or records
Interview
  • Personnel with system operations responsibilities
  • personnel with information security responsibilities
  • system or network administrators
  • personnel with account management responsibilities
  • system developers
Test
  • Organizational processes for uniquely identifying and authenticating users
  • mechanisms supporting or implementing identification and authentication capability

NIST SP 800-171A, potential assessment methods and objects for 3.5.1.

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 5 points. Not meeting this requirement subtracts 5 from your 110-point SPRS score. These are the requirements with the largest effect on your posture.

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: 03.05.01 User Identification and Authentication. 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)