Control statement
Respond to information spills by:
- a.Assigning [Organization-defined: personnel or roles] with responsibility for responding to information spills;
- b.Identifying the specific information involved in the system contamination;
- c.Alerting [Organization-defined: personnel or roles] of the information spill using a method of communication not associated with the spill;
- d.Isolating the contaminated system or system component;
- e.Eradicating the information from the contaminated system or component;
- f.Identifying other systems or system components that may have been subsequently contaminated; and
- g.Performing the following additional actions: [Organization-defined: actions].
Discussion
Information spillage refers to instances where information is placed on systems that are not authorized to process such information. Information spills occur when information that is thought to be a certain classification or impact level is transmitted to a system and subsequently is determined to be of a higher classification or impact level. At that point, corrective action is required. The nature of the response is based on the classification or impact level of the spilled information, the security capabilities of the system, the specific nature of the contaminated storage media, and the access authorizations of individuals with authorized access to the contaminated system. The methods used to communicate information about the spill after the fact do not involve methods directly associated with the actual spill to minimize the risk of further spreading the contamination before such contamination is isolated and eradicated.
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 Information Spillage Response 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 prepared detection, coordinated response, analysis, reporting, and lessons learned.
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
- incident response plans and playbooks
- case records and timelines
- exercise and tabletop results
- lessons-learned and corrective-action tracking
Common failure patterns
- plans that do not match current architecture
- unclear authority for containment decisions
- evidence lost during response
- lessons learned recorded but not implemented
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
- IR-09a.[Organization-defined: personnel or roles] is/are assigned the responsibility to respond to information spills;
- IR-09b.the specific information involved in the system contamination is identified in response to information spills;
- IR-09c.[Organization-defined: personnel or roles] is/are alerted of the information spill using a method of communication not associated with the spill;
- IR-09d.the contaminated system or system component is isolated in response to information spills;
- IR-09e.the information is eradicated from the contaminated system or component in response to information spills;
- IR-09f.other systems or system components that may have been subsequently contaminated are identified in response to information spills;
- IR-09g.[Organization-defined: actions] are performed in response to information spills.
Examine
- Incident response policy
- procedures addressing information spillage
- incident response plan
- system security plan
- records of information spillage alerts/notifications
- list of personnel who should receive alerts of information spillage
- list of actions to be performed regarding information spillage
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with incident response responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for information spillage response
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing information spillage response actions and related communications
Related controls
These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.
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.
IR-9(1) — Responsible Personnel
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
IR-9(2) — Training
Provide information spillage response training [Organization-defined: frequency].
Official discussion
Organizations establish requirements for responding to information spillage incidents in incident response plans. Incident response training on a regular basis helps to ensure that organizational personnel understand their individual responsibilities and what specific actions to take when spillage incidents occur.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
information spillage response training is provided [Organization-defined: frequency].
Examine
- Incident response policy
- procedures addressing information spillage response training
- information spillage response training curriculum
- information spillage response training materials
- incident response plan
- system security plan
- information spillage response training records
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with incident response training responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Related controls
IR-9(3) — Post-spill Operations
Implement the following procedures to ensure that organizational personnel impacted by information spills can continue to carry out assigned tasks while contaminated systems are undergoing corrective actions: [Organization-defined: procedures].
Official discussion
Corrective actions for systems contaminated due to information spillages may be time-consuming. Personnel may not have access to the contaminated systems while corrective actions are being taken, which may potentially affect their ability to conduct organizational business.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
[Organization-defined: procedures] are implemented to ensure that organizational personnel impacted by information spills can continue to carry out assigned tasks while contaminated systems are undergoing corrective actions.
Examine
- Incident response policy
- procedures addressing incident response
- procedures addressing information spillage
- incident response plan
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with incident response responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for post-spill operations
IR-9(4) — Exposure to Unauthorized Personnel
Employ the following controls for personnel exposed to information not within assigned access authorizations: [Organization-defined: controls].
Official discussion
Controls include ensuring that personnel who are exposed to spilled information are made aware of the laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines regarding the information and the restrictions imposed based on exposure to such information.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
[Organization-defined: controls] are employed for personnel exposed to information not within assigned access authorizations.
Examine
- Incident response policy
- procedures addressing incident response
- procedures addressing information spillage
- incident response plan
- system security plan
- security safeguards regarding information spillage/exposure to unauthorized personnel
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with incident response responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for dealing with information exposed to unauthorized personnel
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing safeguards for personnel exposed to information not within assigned access authorizations
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.