PS-3 PS · Personnel Security

Personnel Screening

✓ LOW ✓ MODERATE ✓ HIGH
4 Enhancements 1 Overlay 9 Related Controls
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Requirements NIST SOURCE

Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)

Personnel screening and rescreening activities reflect applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, and specific criteria established for the risk designations of assigned positions. Examples of personnel screening include background investigations and agency checks. Organizations may define different rescreening conditions and frequencies for personnel accessing systems based on types of information processed, stored, or transmitted by the systems.

Enhancements NIST SOURCE

PS-3(1) Classified Information LOW MODERATE HIGH

Verify that individuals accessing a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information are cleared and indoctrinated to the highest classification level of the information to which they have access on the system.

Discussion

Classified information is the most sensitive information that the Federal Government processes, stores, or transmits. It is imperative that individuals have the requisite security clearances and system access authorizations prior to gaining access to such information. Access authorizations are enforced by system access controls (see AC-3 ) and flow controls (see AC-4).

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PS-3(2) Formal Indoctrination LOW MODERATE HIGH

Verify that individuals accessing a system processing, storing, or transmitting types of classified information that require formal indoctrination, are formally indoctrinated for all the relevant types of information to which they have access on the system.

Discussion

Types of classified information that require formal indoctrination include Special Access Program (SAP), Restricted Data (RD), and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

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PS-3(3) Information Requiring Special Protective Measures LOW MODERATE HIGH

Verify that individuals accessing a system processing, storing, or transmitting information requiring special protection:

  1. (a) Have valid access authorizations that are demonstrated by assigned official government duties; and
  2. (b) Satisfy [additional personnel screening criteria].
Discussion

Organizational information that requires special protection includes controlled unclassified information. Personnel security criteria include position sensitivity background screening requirements.

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PS-3(4) Citizenship Requirements LOW MODERATE HIGH

Verify that individuals accessing a system processing, storing, or transmitting [information types] meet [citizenship requirements].

Discussion

None.

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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 PS-3 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. conditions requiring rescreening of individuals are defined;
  2. the frequency of rescreening individuals where it is so indicated is defined;
  3. individuals are screened prior to authorizing access to the system;
  4. individuals are rescreened in accordance with <PS-03_ODP[01] conditions requiring rescreening>;
  5. where rescreening is so indicated, individuals are rescreened <PS-03_ODP[02] frequency>.

Examine

[SELECT FROM: Personnel security policy; procedures addressing personnel screening; records of screened personnel; system security plan; other relevant documents or records].

Interview

[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with personnel security responsibilities; organizational personnel with information security responsibilities].

Test

[SELECT FROM: Organizational processes for personnel screening].

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

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

MODERATE

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

HIGH

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

STIGs & CCIs

No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for PS-3. 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

  • Personnel security policy
  • system security plan

Testing

  • Organizational processes for personnel screening

Other Records

  • procedures addressing personnel screening
  • records of screened personnel
  • other relevant documents or records