Authorization
✓ LOW ✓ MODERATE ✓ HIGHRequirements NIST SOURCE
Requirement Context
This element is part of CA-6 — Authorization. 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-6 — Authorization. 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.
- 1.Accepts the use of common controls inherited by the system; and
- 2.Authorizes the system to operate;
Requirement Context
This element is part of CA-6 — Authorization. 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-6 — Authorization. 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-6 — Authorization. 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)
Authorizations are official management decisions by senior officials to authorize operation of systems, authorize the use of common controls for inheritance by organizational systems, and explicitly accept the risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation based on the implementation of agreed-upon controls. Authorizing officials provide budgetary oversight for organizational systems and common controls or assume responsibility for the mission and business functions supported by those systems or common controls. The authorization process is a federal responsibility, and therefore, authorizing officials must be federal employees. Authorizing officials are both responsible and accountable for security and privacy risks associated with the operation and use of organizational systems. Nonfederal organizations may have similar processes to authorize systems and senior officials that assume the authorization role and associated responsibilities. Authorizing officials issue ongoing authorizations of systems based on evidence produced from implemented continuous monitoring programs. Robust continuous monitoring programs reduce the need for separate reauthorization processes. Through the employment of comprehensive continuous monitoring processes, the information contained in authorization packages (i.e., security and privacy plans, assessment reports, and plans of action and milestones) is updated on an ongoing basis. This provides authorizing officials, common control providers, and system owners with an up-to-date status of the security and privacy posture of their systems, controls, and operating environments. To reduce the cost of reauthorization, authorizing officials can leverage the results of continuous monitoring processes to the maximum extent possible as the basis for rendering reauthorization decisions.
Enhancements NIST SOURCE
CA-6(1) Joint Authorization — Intra-organization LOW MODERATE HIGH
Employ a joint authorization process for the system that includes multiple authorizing officials from the same organization conducting the authorization.
Discussion
Assigning multiple authorizing officials from the same organization to serve as co-authorizing officials for the system increases the level of independence in the risk-based decision-making process. It also implements the concepts of separation of duties and dual authorization as applied to the system authorization process. The intra-organization joint authorization process is most relevant for connected systems, shared systems, and systems with multiple information owners.
CA-6(2) Joint Authorization — Inter-organization LOW MODERATE HIGH
Employ a joint authorization process for the system that includes multiple authorizing officials with at least one authorizing official from an organization external to the organization conducting the authorization.
Discussion
Assigning multiple authorizing officials, at least one of whom comes from an external organization, to serve as co-authorizing officials for the system increases the level of independence in the risk-based decision-making process. It implements the concepts of separation of duties and dual authorization as applied to the system authorization process. Employing authorizing officials from external organizations to supplement the authorizing official from the organization that owns or hosts the system may be necessary when the external organizations have a vested interest or equities in the outcome of the authorization decision. The inter-organization joint authorization process is relevant and appropriate for connected systems, shared systems or services, and systems with multiple information owners. The authorizing officials from the external organizations are key stakeholders of the system undergoing authorization.
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-6 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
- frequency at which to update the authorizations is defined;
- a senior official is assigned as the authorizing official for the system;
- a senior official is assigned as the authorizing official for common controls available for inheritance by organizational systems;
- before commencing operations, the authorizing official for the system accepts the use of common controls inherited by the system;
- before commencing operations, the authorizing official for the system authorizes the system to operate;
- the authorizing official for common controls authorizes the use of those controls for inheritance by organizational systems;
- the authorizations are updated <CA-06_ODP frequency>.
Examine
[SELECT FROM: Assessment, authorization, and monitoring policy; procedures addressing authorization; system security plan, privacy plan, assessment report, plan of action and milestones; authorization statement; other relevant documents or records].
Interview
[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with authorization responsibilities; organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities].
Test
[SELECT FROM: Mechanisms that facilitate authorizations and updates].
Overlays
STIGs & CCIs
No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for CA-6. 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
- Assessment, authorization, and monitoring policy
- system security plan, privacy plan, assessment report, plan of action and milestones
Testing
- Mechanisms that facilitate authorizations and updates
Other Records
- procedures addressing authorization
- authorization statement
- other relevant documents or records