Control statement
Provide the capability to employ [Organization-defined: alternative communications protocols] in support of maintaining continuity of operations.
Discussion
Contingency plans and the contingency training or testing associated with those plans incorporate an alternate communications protocol capability as part of establishing resilience in organizational systems. Switching communications protocols may affect software applications and operational aspects of systems. Organizations assess the potential side effects of introducing alternate communications protocols prior to implementation.
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 Alternate Communications Protocols 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 resilient operations, recovery priorities, alternate capabilities, and tested restoration.
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
- contingency and recovery plans
- backup success and restoration-test records
- exercise after-action reports
- alternate processing or communications agreements
Common failure patterns
- backups never restored in testing
- recovery priorities not tied to mission impact
- plans dependent on unavailable people or facilities
- exercise findings not tracked to closure
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
the capability to employ [Organization-defined: alternative communications protocols] are provided in support of maintaining continuity of operations.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing alternative communications protocols
- contingency plan
- continuity of operations plan
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- list of alternative communications protocols supporting continuity of operations
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency planning and plan implementation responsibilities
- organizational personnel with continuity of operations planning and plan implementation responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
- system/network administrators
- system developers
Test
- Mechanisms employing alternative communications protocols
Related controls
These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.
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.