What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on MP-5 Media Transport?

SSP MP-5 statement describing protection during transport (encryption, courier, custody), accountability and authorised couriers; Media transport log with chain of custody signatures and courier authorisation; Removable media usage policy and DLP enforcement evidence; Media transport chain of custody logs; Encryption configuration for portable storage devices; Media protection policy covering electronic and physical media.

What is the most common gap auditors find on MP-5?

Decommissioned drives stored unencrypted while awaiting destruction

FedRAMP High (NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 baseline) · MP - Media Protection

`MP-5` Media Transport

Protect and control media during transport outside controlled areas; maintain accountability; document activities; restrict transport to authorized personnel.

Source: FedRAMP High (NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 baseline), MP-5. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open FedRAMP High (NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 baseline) in the compliance library.

A FedRAMP baseline is a subset of NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, enhancements included.

artefacts

held by a system

at each review

easy

to go live

SIEM / log platform

where the evidence lives

teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

Media transport log with chain of custody signatures and courier authorisation · SIEM / log platform
Removable media usage policy and DLP enforcement evidence · Cloud console / configuration management
Media transport chain of custody logs · SIEM / log platform
Encryption configuration for portable storage devices · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

none for this control

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

SSP MP-5 statement describing protection during transport (encryption, courier, custody), accountability and authorised couriers · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Media protection policy covering electronic and physical media · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Media inventory and labelling scheme by data classification · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Automate the pull from your SIEM / log platform. Retention and alert rules exported from the SIEM; review evidence is the closed-alert record with reviewer and time.

Common gaps auditors find

Decommissioned drives stored unencrypted while awaiting destruction
USB usage permitted without DLP inspection or encryption
Destruction certificates lack serial numbers tying back to inventory
Backup tapes shipped without tamper evident packaging

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

MP-4 Media Storage · MP-6 Media Sanitization