CP-6 CP · Contingency Planning

Alternate Storage Site

LOW ✓ MODERATE ✓ HIGH
3 Enhancements 1 Overlay 10 Related Controls
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Requirements NIST SOURCE

Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)

Alternate storage sites are geographically distinct from primary storage sites and maintain duplicate copies of information and data if the primary storage site is not available. Similarly, alternate processing sites provide processing capability if the primary processing site is not available. Geographically distributed architectures that support contingency requirements may be considered alternate storage sites. Items covered by alternate storage site agreements include environmental conditions at the alternate sites, access rules for systems and facilities, physical and environmental protection requirements, and coordination of delivery and retrieval of backup media. Alternate storage sites reflect the requirements in contingency plans so that organizations can maintain essential mission and business functions despite compromise, failure, or disruption in organizational systems.

Enhancements NIST SOURCE

CP-6(1) Separation from Primary Site LOW ✓ MODERATE ✓ HIGH

Identify an alternate storage site that is sufficiently separated from the primary storage site to reduce susceptibility to the same threats.

Discussion

Threats that affect alternate storage sites are defined in organizational risk assessments and include natural disasters, structural failures, hostile attacks, and errors of omission or commission. Organizations determine what is considered a sufficient degree of separation between primary and alternate storage sites based on the types of threats that are of concern. For threats such as hostile attacks, the degree of separation between sites is less relevant.

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CP-6(2) Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives LOW MODERATE ✓ HIGH

Configure the alternate storage site to facilitate recovery operations in accordance with recovery time and recovery point objectives.

Discussion

Organizations establish recovery time and recovery point objectives as part of contingency planning. Configuration of the alternate storage site includes physical facilities and the systems supporting recovery operations that ensure accessibility and correct execution.

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CP-6(3) Accessibility LOW ✓ MODERATE ✓ HIGH

Identify potential accessibility problems to the alternate storage site in the event of an area-wide disruption or disaster and outline explicit mitigation actions.

Discussion

Area-wide disruptions refer to those types of disruptions that are broad in geographic scope with such determinations made by organizations based on organizational assessments of risk. Explicit mitigation actions include duplicating backup information at other alternate storage sites if access problems occur at originally designated alternate sites or planning for physical access to retrieve backup information if electronic accessibility to the alternate site is disrupted.

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Implementation Guidance

Engineering Interpretation

Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.

No engineering interpretation has been authored for CP-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

NIST SP 800-53A REV 5.2.0

Assessment Objectives

  1. an alternate storage site is established;
  2. establishment of the alternate storage site includes necessary agreements to permit the storage and retrieval of system backup information;
  3. the alternate storage site provides controls equivalent to that of the primary site.

Examine

[SELECT FROM: Contingency planning policy; procedures addressing alternate storage sites; contingency plan; alternate storage site agreements; primary storage site agreements; system security plan; other relevant documents or records].

Interview

[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with contingency plan alternate storage site responsibilities; organizational personnel with system recovery responsibilities; organizational personnel with information security responsibilities].

Test

[SELECT FROM: Organizational processes for storing and retrieving system backup information at the alternate storage site; mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the storage and retrieval of system backup information at the alternate storage site].

Overlays

OT/ICS Overlay SP 800-82r3

NIST SP 800-82r3 Appendix F, Table 22. Blank baseline means the control/control enhancement is not selected in that initial OT baseline.

LOW

Not applicable at this tier.

MODERATE

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)
  • Included: (1) (3)

HIGH

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)
  • Included: (1) (2) (3)

STIGs & CCIs

No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for CP-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

Potential Evidence — Derived

Categorized from the SP 800-53A "Examine"/"Test" artifact list above by keyword — not an authoritative NIST evidence list.

Policy

  • Contingency planning policy
  • contingency plan
  • system security plan

Testing

  • Organizational processes for storing and retrieving system backup information at the alternate storage site
  • mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the storage and retrieval of system backup information at the alternate storage site

Other Records

  • procedures addressing alternate storage sites
  • alternate storage site agreements
  • primary storage site agreements
  • other relevant documents or records