Transitive Information Exchanges
LOW MODERATE HIGHRequirements NIST SOURCE
Requirement Context
This element is part of CA-3(7) — Transitive Information Exchanges. See the Assessment section below for the related SP 800-53A examine/interview/test procedures. No engineering interpretation has been authored for this control yet.
Requirement Context
This element is part of CA-3(7) — Transitive Information Exchanges. See the Assessment section below for the related SP 800-53A examine/interview/test procedures. No engineering interpretation has been authored for this control yet.
Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)
Transitive or "downstream" information exchanges are information exchanges between the system or systems with which the organizational system exchanges information and other systems. For mission-essential systems, services, and applications, including high value assets, it is necessary to identify such information exchanges. The transparency of the controls or protection measures in place in such downstream systems connected directly or indirectly to organizational systems is essential to understanding the security and privacy risks resulting from those information exchanges. Organizational systems can inherit risk from downstream systems through transitive connections and information exchanges, which can make the organizational systems more susceptible to threats, hazards, and adverse impacts.
Implementation Guidance
Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.
No engineering interpretation has been authored for CA-3(7) yet. This section is architected to receive it — see the Requirements and Assessment sections above for the authoritative NIST source content in the meantime.
Assessment
Assessment Objectives
- transitive (downstream) information exchanges with other systems through the systems identified in CA-03a are identified;
- measures are taken to ensure that transitive (downstream) information exchanges cease when the controls on identified transitive (downstream) systems cannot be verified or validated.
Examine
[SELECT FROM: Access control policy; procedures addressing system connections; system and communications protection policy; system interconnection agreements; information exchange security agreements; memoranda of understanding or agreements; service level agreements; non-disclosure agreements; system design documentation; system configuration settings and associated documentation; control assessment report; system audit records; system security plan; privacy plan; other relevant documents or records].
Interview
[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with responsibilities for managing connections to external systems; network administrators; organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities].
Test
[SELECT FROM: Mechanisms implementing restrictions on external system connections].
Overlays
STIGs & CCIs
No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for CA-3(7). This section is architected to display, per product: STIG ID, Finding ID, Severity, Title, Description, Check, Fix, CCI, and NIST control mapping — but nothing is populated here until a real DISA STIG/CCI dataset is ingested.
Learn more about STIG/CCI integration →Evidence
Categorized from the SP 800-53A "Examine"/"Test" artifact list above by keyword — not an authoritative NIST evidence list.
Policy
- Access control policy
- system and communications protection policy
- system security plan
- privacy plan
Configuration
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
Testing
- Mechanisms implementing restrictions on external system connections
Other Records
- procedures addressing system connections
- system interconnection agreements
- information exchange security agreements
- memoranda of understanding or agreements
- service level agreements
- non-disclosure agreements
- control assessment report
- system audit records
- other relevant documents or records