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NIST SP 800-53 Learning Center

SC-6 — Resource Availability

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

SC — System and Communications Protection · NIST SP 800-53 Release 5.2.0

Official NIST control content

Control statement

Protect the availability of resources by allocating [Organization-defined: resources] by [Organization-defined: sc-06_odp.02].

Official NIST discussion

Discussion

Priority protection prevents lower-priority processes from delaying or interfering with the system that services higher-priority processes. Quotas prevent users or processes from obtaining more than predetermined amounts of resources.

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.

resourcesresources to be allocated to protect the availability of resources are defined;
sc-06_odp.02
controlscontrols to protect the availability of resources are defined (if selected);
Original Bare Metal Cyber perspective

From control text to operational evidence

Use Resource Availability 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?
Official NIST SP 800-53A content

Assessment objectives and methods

Show the assessment objective

the availability of resources is protected by allocating [Organization-defined: resources] by [Organization-defined: sc-06_odp.02].

Examine

  • System and communications protection policy
  • procedures addressing prioritization of system resources
  • 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
  • system developer

Test

  • Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing a resource allocation capability
  • safeguards employed to protect availability of resources
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