3.8.5Control media in transit
Track and protect media while it moves outside controlled areas.
The requirement, verbatim
NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 · 3.8.5Control access to media containing CUI and maintain accountability for media during transport outside of controlled areas.
NIST's discussion
Controlled areas are areas or spaces for which organizations provide physical or procedural controls to meet the requirements established for protecting systems and information. Controls to maintain accountability for media during transport include locked containers and cryptography. Cryptographic mechanisms can provide confidentiality and integrity protections depending upon the mechanisms used. Activities associated with transport include the actual transport as well as those activities such as releasing media for transport and ensuring that media enters the appropriate transport processes. For the actual transport, authorized transport and courier personnel may include individuals external to the organization. Maintaining accountability of media during transport includes restricting transport activities to authorized personnel and tracking and obtaining explicit records of transport activities as the media moves through the transportation system to prevent and detect loss, destruction, or tampering.
NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, discussion under 3.8.5. Whitespace normalised; wording unchanged.
Assessment objectives
An assessor decides each of these separately. The requirement is met only when every objective is.
- [a] media containing CUI is controlled during transport outside of controlled areas
- [b] accountability for media containing CUI is maintained during transport outside of controlled areas
NIST SP 800-171A, determination statements for 3.8.5.
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 media protection policy
- procedures addressing media storage
- physical and environmental protection policy and procedures
- access control policy and procedures
- system security plan
- system media
- designated controlled areas
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Personnel with system media protection and storage responsibilities
- personnel with information security responsibilities
- system or network administrators
Test
- Organizational processes for storing media
- mechanisms supporting or implementing media storage and media protection
NIST SP 800-171A, potential assessment methods and objects for 3.8.5.
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: 03.08.05 Media Transport.
See the Rev. 2 and Rev. 3 wording word by word, or start with the status page.
Related requirements
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)