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NIST SP 800-171 CUI Protection Center

03.08.01 — Media Storage

Read the official CUI requirement and assessment content, then use the separately labeled Bare Metal Cyber perspective to connect it to implementation, evidence, and sustained operation.

1Source controls
2Assessment objectives
3Assessment methods

03.08 — Media Protection · NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3

Active
Official NIST requirement content

Security requirement

Physically control and securely store system media that contain CUI.

Official NIST discussion

Discussion

System media include digital and non-digital media. Digital media include diskettes, flash drives, magnetic tapes, external or removable solid state or magnetic drives, compact discs, and digital versatile discs. Non-digital media include paper and microfilm. Physically controlling stored media includes conducting inventories, establishing procedures to allow individuals to check out and return media to libraries, and maintaining accountability for stored media. Secure storage includes a locked drawer, desk, or cabinet or a controlled media library. Controlled areas provide physical and procedural controls to meet the requirements established for protecting information and systems. Sanitization techniques (e.g., destroying, cryptographically erasing, clearing, and purging) prevent the disclosure of CUI to unauthorized individuals. The sanitization process removes CUI from media such that the information cannot be retrieved or reconstructed.

Bare Metal Cyber interpretation

Implementation perspective

Treat Media Storage as a CUI protection outcome that must be reflected in the system boundary, documented implementation, operational behavior, and assessment evidence. Pay particular attention to CUI media accountability, access, marking, storage, transport, sanitization, and disposal.

  1. Confirm the requirement is in scope for the CUI system components, services, users, and external connections being assessed.
  2. Resolve every organization-defined parameter through an approved governance and tailoring process.
  3. Map each clause of the requirement to an accountable owner, implementation mechanism, and evidence source.
  4. Verify that inherited and shared implementations are supported by current provider evidence and responsibility boundaries.
  5. 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

  • media inventories and chain-of-custody records
  • sanitization certificates
  • transport and storage procedures
  • removable-media control logs

Common failure patterns

  • cloud snapshots and virtual media excluded
  • sanitization method not matched to media type
  • untracked removable media
  • disposal vendors accepted without verification
Official NIST SP 800-171A content

Assessment objectives and methods

Assessment objectives (2)
  1. SR-03.8.1.

    system media that contain CUI are physically controlled.

  2. SR-03.8.1.

    system media that contain CUI are securely stored.

Examine

  • physical protection policy and procedures
  • media protection policy and procedures
  • procedures for media storage
  • access control policy and procedures
  • system media
  • system security plan
  • other relevant documents or records

Interview

  • personnel with system media protection and storage responsibilities
  • personnel with information security responsibilities

Test

  • processes for storing information media
  • mechanisms for supporting or implementing secure media storage/media protection
Official source-control relationships

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.

Source controlMP-4Open SP 800-53 control →
Source record

Authoritative sources

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.