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NIST SP 800-53 Learning Center

PE-20 — Asset Monitoring and Tracking

Read the official control and assessment content, then use the separately labeled Bare Metal Cyber perspective to connect the requirement to implementation, evidence, and sustained operation.

0Enhancements
3Parameters
0Baseline memberships
3Assessment methods

PE — Physical and Environmental Protection · NIST SP 800-53 Release 5.2.0

Official NIST control content

Control statement

Employ [Organization-defined: asset location technologies] to track and monitor the location and movement of [Organization-defined: assets] within [Organization-defined: controlled areas].

Official NIST discussion

Discussion

Asset location technologies can help ensure that critical assets—including vehicles, equipment, and system components—remain in authorized locations. Organizations consult with the Office of the General Counsel and senior agency official for privacy regarding the deployment and use of asset location technologies to address potential privacy concerns.

Official OSCAL parameters

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.

asset location technologiesasset location technologies to be employed to track and monitor the location and movement of assets is defined;
assetsassets whose location and movement are to be tracked and monitored are defined;
controlled areascontrolled areas within which asset location and movement are to be tracked and monitored are defined;
Original Bare Metal Cyber perspective

From control text to operational evidence

Use Asset Monitoring and Tracking 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 physical access, facility protection, environmental safeguards, and visitor accountability.

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

  • badge and visitor logs
  • physical access reviews
  • facility diagrams and sensor records
  • environmental and power test results

Common failure patterns

  • logical security assumptions invalidated by physical access
  • tailgating and visitor exceptions normalized
  • critical infrastructure not included in access reviews
  • environmental alarms not integrated into response

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?
Official NIST SP 800-53A content

Assessment objectives and methods

Show the assessment objective

[Organization-defined: asset location technologies] are employed to track and monitor the location and movement of [Organization-defined: assets] within [Organization-defined: controlled areas].

Examine

  • Physical and environmental protection policy
  • procedures addressing asset monitoring and tracking
  • documentation showing the use of asset location technologies
  • system configuration documentation
  • list of organizational assets requiring tracking and monitoring
  • asset monitoring and tracking records
  • system security plan
  • privacy plan
  • other relevant documents or records

Interview

  • Organizational personnel with asset monitoring and tracking responsibilities
  • legal counsel
  • organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities

Test

  • Organizational processes for tracking and monitoring assets
  • mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the tracking and monitoring of assets
Official relationships

Related controls

These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.

Source record

Authoritative sources