Control statement
Associate [Organization-defined: organization-defined security and privacy attributes] with information exchanged between systems and between system components.
Discussion
Security and privacy attributes can be explicitly or implicitly associated with the information contained in organizational systems or system components. Attributes are abstractions that represent the basic properties or characteristics of an entity with respect to protecting information or the management of personally identifiable information. Attributes are typically associated with internal data structures, including records, buffers, and files within the system. Security and privacy attributes are used to implement access control and information flow control policies; reflect special dissemination, management, or distribution instructions, including permitted uses of personally identifiable information; or support other aspects of the information security and privacy policies. Privacy attributes may be used independently or in conjunction with security attributes.
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 Transmission of Security and Privacy Attributes 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 secure architecture, boundary protection, communications protection, cryptography, and system isolation.
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
- network and trust-boundary diagrams
- firewall and gateway configurations
- cryptographic configuration and key records
- segmentation and isolation test results
Common failure patterns
- diagrams omit cloud and third-party paths
- encryption enabled without key governance
- flat trust zones allow unnecessary lateral movement
- boundary rules accumulate without owner review
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
- SC-16[01][Organization-defined: security attributes] are associated with information exchanged between systems;
- SC-16[02][Organization-defined: security attributes] are associated with information exchanged between system components;
- SC-16[03][Organization-defined: privacy attributes] are associated with information exchanged between systems;
- SC-16[04][Organization-defined: privacy attributes] are associated with information exchanged between system components.
Examine
- System and communications protection policy
- procedures addressing the transmission of security and privacy attributes
- access control policy and procedures
- information flow control policy
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- System/network administrators
- organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the transmission of security and privacy attributes between systems
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.
SC-16(1) — Integrity Verification
Verify the integrity of transmitted security and privacy attributes.
Official discussion
Part of verifying the integrity of transmitted information is ensuring that security and privacy attributes that are associated with such information have not been modified in an unauthorized manner. Unauthorized modification of security or privacy attributes can result in a loss of integrity for transmitted information.
Assessment objectives and methods
- SC-16(01)[01]the integrity of transmitted security attributes is verified;
- SC-16(01)[02]the integrity of transmitted privacy attributes is verified.
Examine
- System and communications protection policy
- procedures addressing the transmission of security and privacy attributes
- access control policy and procedures
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- System/network administrators
- organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing verification of the integrity of transmitted security and privacy attributes
Related controls
SC-16(2) — Anti-spoofing Mechanisms
Implement anti-spoofing mechanisms to prevent adversaries from falsifying the security attributes indicating the successful application of the security process.
Official discussion
Some attack vectors operate by altering the security attributes of an information system to intentionally and maliciously implement an insufficient level of security within the system. The alteration of attributes leads organizations to believe that a greater number of security functions are in place and operational than have actually been implemented.
Assessment objectives and methods
anti-spoofing mechanisms are implemented to prevent adversaries from falsifying the security attributes indicating the successful application of the security process.
Examine
- System and communications protection policy
- procedures addressing the transmission of security and privacy attributes
- access control policy and procedures
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- System/network administrators
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing anti-spoofing mechanisms
Related controls
SC-16(3) — Cryptographic Binding
Implement [Organization-defined: mechanisms or techniques] to bind security and privacy attributes to transmitted information.
Official discussion
Cryptographic mechanisms and techniques can provide strong security and privacy attribute binding to transmitted information to help ensure the integrity of such information.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
[Organization-defined: mechanisms or techniques] are implemented to bind security and privacy attributes to transmitted information.
Examine
- System and communications protection policy
- procedures addressing the transmission of security and privacy attributes
- access control policy and procedures
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- System/network administrators
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing anti-spoofing mechanisms
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.