Security requirement
- a.Screen individuals prior to authorizing access to the system.
- b.Rescreen individuals in accordance with [Organization-defined: conditions].
Discussion
Personnel security screening activities involve the assessment of the conduct, integrity, judgment, loyalty, reliability, and stability of an individual (i.e., the individual’s trustworthiness) prior to authorizing access to the system or when elevating system access. The screening and rescreening activities reflect applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and criteria established for the level of access required for the assigned position.
Tailoring decisions required
Resolve these values through the governing organization’s approved tailoring and risk-management process before declaring the requirement implemented.
Implementation perspective
Treat Personnel Screening as a CUI protection outcome that must be reflected in the system boundary, documented implementation, operational behavior, and assessment evidence. Pay particular attention to personnel risk, screening, agreements, transfer, termination, and timely access consequences.
- 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
- screening and suitability records
- access agreements
- transfer and termination checklists
- role-change and offboarding evidence
Common failure patterns
- access persisting after transfer or separation
- contractor lifecycle outside normal controls
- sensitive roles not screened based on risk
- termination actions that cannot be shown to occur promptly
Assessment objectives and methods
Assessment objectives (2)
- a.
individuals are screened prior to authorizing access to the system.
- b.
individuals are rescreened in accordance with the following conditions: [Organization-defined: conditions].
Examine
- personnel security policy and procedures
- procedures for personnel screening and rescreening
- records of screened personnel
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- personnel with personnel security responsibilities
- personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- processes for personnel screening and rescreening
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.