Control statement
- a.Protect and control [Organization-defined: types of system media] during transport outside of controlled areas using [Organization-defined: organization-defined controls];
- b.Maintain accountability for system media during transport outside of controlled areas;
- c.Document activities associated with the transport of system media; and
- d.Restrict the activities associated with the transport of system media to authorized personnel.
Discussion
System media includes digital and non-digital media. Digital media includes flash drives, diskettes, magnetic tapes, external or removable hard disk drives (e.g., solid state and magnetic), compact discs, and digital versatile discs. Non-digital media includes microfilm and paper. Controlled areas are spaces for which organizations provide physical or procedural controls to meet requirements established for protecting information and systems. Controls to protect media during transport include cryptography and locked containers. Cryptographic mechanisms can provide confidentiality and integrity protections depending on the mechanisms implemented. Activities associated with media transport include releasing media for transport, ensuring that media enters the appropriate transport processes, and the actual transport. Authorized transport and courier personnel may include individuals external to the organization. Maintaining accountability of media during transport includes restricting transport activities to authorized personnel and tracking and/or obtaining records of transport activities as the media moves through the transportation system to prevent and detect loss, destruction, or tampering. Organizations establish documentation requirements for activities associated with the transport of system media in accordance with organizational assessments of risk. Organizations maintain the flexibility to define record-keeping methods for the different types of media transport as part of a system of transport-related records.
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 Media Transport 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 media accountability, handling, sanitization, transport, and disposal across physical and digital forms.
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
- media inventories and chain-of-custody records
- sanitization certificates
- transport and storage procedures
- removable-media control logs
Common failure patterns
- cloud snapshots and virtual media excluded from policy
- sanitization method not matched to media type
- untracked removable media
- disposal vendors accepted without verification
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
- MP-05a.
- MP-05a.[01][Organization-defined: types of system media] are protected during transport outside of controlled areas using [Organization-defined: controls];
- MP-05a.[02][Organization-defined: types of system media] are controlled during transport outside of controlled areas using [Organization-defined: controls];
- MP-05b.accountability for system media is maintained during transport outside of controlled areas;
- MP-05c.activities associated with the transport of system media are documented;
- MP-05d.
- MP-05d.[01]personnel authorized to conduct media transport activities is/are identified;
- MP-05d.[02]activities associated with the transport of system media are restricted to identified authorized personnel.
Examine
- System media protection policy
- procedures addressing media storage
- physical and environmental protection policy and procedures
- access control policy and procedures
- authorized personnel list
- system media
- designated controlled areas
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system media protection and storage responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
- system/network administrators
Test
- Organizational processes for storing information media
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing media storage/media protection
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.
MP-5(1) — Protection Outside of Controlled Areas
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
MP-5(2) — Documentation of Activities
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
MP-5(3) — Custodians
Employ an identified custodian during transport of system media outside of controlled areas.
Official discussion
Identified custodians provide organizations with specific points of contact during the media transport process and facilitate individual accountability. Custodial responsibilities can be transferred from one individual to another if an unambiguous custodian is identified.
Assessment objectives and methods
- MP-05(03)[01]a custodian to transport system media outside of controlled areas is identified;
- MP-05(03)[02]the identified custodian is employed during the transport of system media outside of controlled areas.
Examine
- System media protection policy
- procedures addressing media transport
- physical and environmental protection policy and procedures
- system media transport records
- audit records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system media transport responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for identifying and employing a custodian to transport media outside of controlled areas
MP-5(4) — Cryptographic Protection
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
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.