Security requirement
- a.Protect audit information and audit logging tools from unauthorized access, modification, and deletion.
- b.Authorize access to management of audit logging functionality to only a subset of privileged users or roles.
Discussion
Audit information includes the information needed to successfully audit system activity, such as audit records, audit log settings, audit reports, and personally identifiable information. Audit logging tools are programs and devices used to conduct audit and logging activities. The protection of audit information focuses on technical protection and limits the ability to access and execute audit logging tools to authorized individuals. The physical protection of audit information is addressed by media and physical protection requirements. Individuals or roles with privileged access to a system and who are also the subject of an audit by that system may affect the reliability of the audit information by inhibiting audit activities or modifying audit records. Requiring privileged access to be further defined between audit-related privileges and other privileges limits the number of users or roles with audit-related privileges.
Implementation perspective
Treat Protection of Audit Information as a CUI protection outcome that must be reflected in the system boundary, documented implementation, operational behavior, and assessment evidence. Pay particular attention to event selection, trustworthy logging, review, retention, and support for CUI investigations.
- Confirm the requirement is in scope for the CUI system components, services, users, and external connections being assessed.
- Resolve every organization-defined parameter through an approved governance and tailoring process.
- Map each clause of the requirement to an accountable owner, implementation mechanism, and evidence source.
- Verify that inherited and shared implementations are supported by current provider evidence and responsibility boundaries.
- Collect evidence during normal operation and review changes, exceptions, and deficiencies on a risk-based cadence.
Questions to ask
- Which CUI assets, data flows, users, and services are protected by this requirement?
- Which portions are implemented locally, inherited, shared, or not applicable, and what evidence supports that determination?
- Do the system security plan, deployed configuration, operating process, and assessment evidence tell the same story?
- What change, incident, or threshold should trigger reassessment?
Evidence and validation
- logging standards and event-selection decisions
- sample audit records and retention settings
- time synchronization evidence
- alert review and investigation records
Common failure patterns
- collecting logs without defined use cases
- critical CUI events absent from the audit trail
- retention shorter than investigative needs
- logs modifiable by the same administrators being monitored
Assessment objectives and methods
Assessment objectives (3)
- b.
access to management of audit logging functionality is authorized to only a subset of privileged users or roles.
- a.
audit information is protected from unauthorized access, modification, and deletion.
- a.
audit logging tools are protected from unauthorized access, modification, and deletion.
Examine
- audit and accountability policy and procedures
- access control policy and procedures
- procedures for the protection of audit information
- system configuration settings
- system audit records
- audit tools
- system-generated list of privileged users with access to the management of audit functionality
- access authorizations
- access control list
- system design documentation
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- personnel with audit and accountability responsibilities
- personnel with information security responsibilities
- system developers
- system administrators
Test
- mechanisms for implementing audit information protection
- mechanisms for managing access to audit functionality
Source NIST SP 800-53 controls
These controls are referenced by the official SP 800-171 Rev. 3 OSCAL record. Open the corresponding control pages for complete control text, enhancements, D3FEND mappings, and related learning.
Authoritative sources
- NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3 official publication ↗
- NIST SP 800-171A Revision 3 official publication ↗
- NIST OSCAL Content release used for this import ↗
Bare Metal Cyber is an independent educational publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NIST. The official publications, the responsible federal agency, and the governing contract or agreement determine applicability, tailoring, assessment depth, and required implementation.