Control statement
- a.Provide and implement the capability for [Organization-defined: users or roles] to [Organization-defined: au-14_odp.02] the content of a user session under [Organization-defined: circumstances] ; and
- b.Develop, integrate, and use session auditing activities in consultation with legal counsel and in accordance with applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines.
Discussion
Session audits can include monitoring keystrokes, tracking websites visited, and recording information and/or file transfers. Session audit capability is implemented in addition to event logging and may involve implementation of specialized session capture technology. Organizations consider how session auditing can reveal information about individuals that may give rise to privacy risk as well as how to mitigate those risks. Because session auditing can impact system and network performance, organizations activate the capability under well-defined situations (e.g., the organization is suspicious of a specific individual). Organizations consult with legal counsel, civil liberties officials, and privacy officials to ensure that any legal, privacy, civil rights, or civil liberties issues, including the use of personally identifiable information, are appropriately addressed.
Organization-defined parameters
These values must be resolved through the organization’s tailoring and governance process. Bracketed parameter references in the control text identify where a decision is required.
From control text to operational evidence
Use Session Audit 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 audit event design, trustworthy collection, retention, review, and investigation support.
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
- logging standards and event-selection decisions
- sample audit records and retention settings
- time-synchronization evidence
- alert and review records
Common failure patterns
- collecting logs without defined use cases
- critical events missing from the audit trail
- retention shorter than investigative needs
- logs accessible to the same administrators being monitored
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?
Assessment objectives and methods
Show the assessment objective
- AU-14a.
- AU-14a.[01][Organization-defined: users or roles] are provided with the capability to [Organization-defined: au-14_odp.02] the content of a user session under [Organization-defined: circumstances];
- AU-14a.[02]the capability for [Organization-defined: users or roles] to [Organization-defined: au-14_odp.02] the content of a user session under [Organization-defined: circumstances] is implemented;
- AU-14b.
- AU-14b.[01]session auditing activities are developed in consultation with legal counsel and in accordance with applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines;
- AU-14b.[02]session auditing activities are integrated in consultation with legal counsel and in accordance with applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines;
- AU-14b.[03]session auditing activities are used in consultation with legal counsel and in accordance with applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines;
Examine
- Audit and accountability policy
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- procedures addressing user session auditing
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
- system/network administrators
- system developers
- legal counsel
- personnel with civil liberties responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms implementing user session auditing capability
Related controls
These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.
Related defensive techniques
D3FEND maps this base control or one of its enhancements to the following defensive techniques. The ontology relation label is preserved and does not by itself prove implementation or effectiveness.
MITRE D3FEND™ and the D3FEND logo are trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Bare Metal Cyber is not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE.
Control enhancements
Enhancements add specificity, strength, or scope to the base control. Baseline badges show explicit selections in the official SP 800-53B OSCAL profiles.
AU-14(1) — System Start-up
Initiate session audits automatically at system start-up.
Official discussion
The automatic initiation of session audits at startup helps to ensure that the information being captured on selected individuals is complete and not subject to compromise through tampering by malicious threat actors.
Assessment objectives and methods
session audits are initiated automatically at system start-up.
Examine
- Audit and accountability policy
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- procedures addressing user session auditing
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
- system/network administrators
- system developers
Test
- Mechanisms implementing user session auditing capability
AU-14(2) — Capture and Record Content
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
AU-14(3) — Remote Viewing and Listening
Provide and implement the capability for authorized users to remotely view and hear content related to an established user session in real time.
Official discussion
None.
Assessment objectives and methods
- AU-14(03)[01]the capability for authorized users to remotely view and hear content related to an established user session in real time is provided;
- AU-14(03)[02]the capability for authorized users to remotely view and hear content related to an established user session in real time is implemented.
Examine
- Audit and accountability policy
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- procedures addressing user session auditing
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
- system/network administrators
- system developers
- legal counsel
- personnel with civil liberties responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms implementing user session auditing capability
Related controls
Authoritative sources
Bare Metal Cyber is an independent educational publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NIST. Official control requirements and interpretations remain with NIST and the responsible authorizing organization.