What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on PE-4 Access Control for Transmission (PE-4)?

SSP PE-4 statement identifying protected distribution and transmission lines and the controls used (locked conduit, cages); Facility cabling diagrams and inspection records for protected wiring closets; Physical security policy and facility risk assessment; Badge access system audit log and door alarm reports; Visitor sign in records with escort assignment; CCTV retention configuration and footage spot check evidence.

What is the most common gap auditors find on PE-4?

Environmental sensor alerts route to unmonitored mailboxes

FedRAMP High (NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 baseline) · PE - Physical and Environmental Protection

`PE-4` Access Control for Transmission (PE-4)

Access Control for Transmission. Control physical access to organization-defined system distribution and transmission lines within organizational facilities using organization-defined security controls

Source: FedRAMP High (NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 baseline), PE-4. 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

hard

to go live

Physical access / facilities

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

CCTV retention configuration and footage spot check evidence · Physical access / facilities

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

Facility cabling diagrams and inspection records for protected wiring closets · Physical access / facilities
Physical security policy and facility risk assessment · Physical access / facilities
Badge access system audit log and door alarm reports · Physical access / facilities
Visitor sign in records with escort assignment · Physical access / facilities

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

SSP PE-4 statement identifying protected distribution and transmission lines and the controls used (locked conduit, cages) · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your Physical access / facilities on a schedule; put the documents under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

Environmental sensor alerts route to unmonitored mailboxes
Server room doors propped open during cooling failures
CCTV coverage gaps at loading docks and equipment delivery areas

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

PE-3(1) System Access · PE-5 Access Control for Output Devices (PE-5)