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NIST SP 800-171 CUI Protection Center

03.08.05 — Media Transport

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.

2Source controls
4Assessment objectives
3Assessment methods

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

Active
Official NIST requirement content

Security requirement

  1. a.Protect and control system media that contain CUI during transport outside of controlled areas.
  2. b.Maintain accountability of system media that contain CUI during transport outside of controlled areas.
  3. c.Document activities associated with the transport of system media that contain CUI.
Official NIST discussion

Discussion

System media include digital and non-digital media. Digital media include flash drives, diskettes, magnetic tapes, external or removable solid state or magnetic drives, compact discs, and digital versatile discs. Non-digital media include microfilm and paper. Controlled areas are spaces for which organizations provide physical or procedural measures to meet the requirements established for protecting CUI and systems. Media protection during transport can include cryptography and/or locked containers. Activities associated with media transport include releasing media for transport, ensuring that media enter the appropriate transport processes, and 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 or obtaining the records of transport activities as the media move through the transportation system to prevent and detect loss, destruction, or tampering. This requirement is related to 03.13.08 and 03.13.11.

Bare Metal Cyber interpretation

Implementation perspective

Treat Media Transport 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 (4)
  1. a.

    system media that contain CUI are protected during transport outside of controlled areas.

  2. a.

    system media that contain CUI are controlled during transport outside of controlled areas.

  3. c.

    activities associated with the transport of system media that contain CUI are documented.

  4. b.

    accountability for system media that contain CUI is maintained during transport outside of controlled areas.

Examine

  • physical protection policy and procedures
  • media protection policy and procedures
  • procedures for media storage
  • access control policy and procedures
  • authorized personnel list
  • system media
  • designated controlled areas
  • system and communications protection policy and procedures
  • cryptographic mechanisms and configuration documentation
  • procedures for the protection of information at rest
  • system design documentation
  • system configuration settings
  • list of information at rest requiring confidentiality protections
  • system audit records
  • system security plan
  • other relevant documents or records

Interview

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

Test

  • processes for storing information media
  • mechanisms for supporting or implementing media storage/media protection
  • mechanisms for supporting or implementing confidentiality protections for information at rest
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-5Open SP 800-53 control →Source controlSC-28Open 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.