AC-2 Account Management
a. Define and document the types of accounts allowed and specifically prohibited for use within the system; b. Assign account managers; c. Require organization-defined prerequisites and criteria for group and role membership; d. Specify: 1. Authorized users of the system; 2. Group and role membership; and 3. Access authorizations (i.e., privileges) and organization-defined attributes (as required) for each account; e. Require approvals by organization-defined personnel or roles for requests to create accounts; f. Create, enable, modify, disable, and remove accounts in accordance with organization-defined policy, procedures, prerequisites, and criteria; g. Monitor the use of accounts; h. Notify account managers and organization-defined personnel or roles within: 1. organization-defined time period when accounts are no longer required; 2. organization-defined time period when users are terminated or transferred; and 3. organization-defined time period when system usage or need-to-know changes for an individual; i. Authorize access to the system based on: 1. A valid access authorization; 2. Intended system usage; and 3. organization-defined attributes (as required); j. Review accounts for compliance with account management requirements organization-defined frequency; k. Establish and implement a process for changing shared or group account authenticators (if deployed) when individuals are removed from the group; and l. Align account management processes with personnel termination and transfer processes.
Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, AC-2. 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 NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 in the compliance library.
Base controls and their enhancements. Which apply follows the baseline you are assessed against (for example FedRAMP Moderate or High, or the low, moderate and high baselines of SP 800-53B). Text in square brackets is a parameter your organisation sets.
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
- List of active system accounts along with the name of the individual associated with each account · Identity provider / directory
- List of recently disabled system accounts and the name of the individual associated with each account · Identity provider / directory
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
- Test of Organizational processes for account management on the system; mechanisms for implementing account management · Identity provider / directory
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
- Access control policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Personnel termination policy and procedure · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Personnel transfer policy and procedure · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Procedures for addressing account management · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- System design documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- System configuration settings and associated documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- List of conditions for group and role membership · Policy repository / GRC workspace
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- Account types allowed and specifically prohibited under a are not defined, so shared and service accounts exist unchecked
- Accounts of terminated or transferred users remain enabled because account managers are not notified as required by h.2
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 sheetAC-1 Policy and Procedures · AC-2(1) Account Management | Automated System Account Management