AT-5 — Contacts with Security Groups and Associations

From control text to operational evidence

Use Contacts with Security Groups and Associations as a testable risk decision. Translate the official statement into accountable people, repeatable processes, configured technology, and evidence that demonstrates the outcome over time. In this family, pay particular attention to role-based knowledge, behavior, awareness, and measurable workforce readiness.

Implementation workflow

• Define the control boundary, responsible owner, inherited portions, and systems or processes in scope.
• Resolve each organization-defined parameter before declaring the control implemented.
• Document how the implementation satisfies every clause of the official control statement.
• Collect evidence as a normal byproduct of operation rather than only before an assessment.
• Review exceptions, changes, and monitoring results on a risk-based cadence.

Evidence examples

• training plans and role assignments
• completion and attendance records
• exercise results and lessons learned
• training-content approval records

Common failure patterns

• generic annual training with no role context
• completion treated as proof of competence
• contractors or privileged users omitted
• training content not updated after incidents

Questions practitioners should ask

• What risk decision is this control intended to support in this system?
• Which parts are implemented locally, inherited, shared, or not applicable—and what evidence supports that decision?
• Do the documented narrative, deployed configuration, operating process, and collected evidence agree?
• What event or threshold requires the implementation to be reviewed or changed?