What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on CP-9 System Backup?

Contingency planning policy; Procedures addressing system backup; Contingency plan; Backup storage location(s); System backup logs or records; System security plan.

What is the most common gap auditors find on CP-9?

System-level information and security documentation are excluded from backup scope, with only user data backed up, contrary to b and c

NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 · CP - Contingency Planning

`CP-9` System Backup

a. Conduct backups of user-level information contained in organization-defined system components organization-defined frequency consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives; b. Conduct backups of system-level information contained in the system organization-defined frequency consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives; c. Conduct backups of system documentation, including security- and privacy-related documentation organization-defined frequency consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives; and d. Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of backup information.

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, CP-9. 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.

artefacts

held by a system

at each review

hard

to go live

Policy repository / GRC workspace

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

System backup logs or records · Backup / DR tooling

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

Test of Organizational processes for conducting system backups; mechanisms supporting and/or implementing system backups · Backup / DR tooling

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

Contingency planning policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Procedures addressing system backup · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Contingency plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Backup storage location(s) · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System security plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Privacy plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your Backup / DR tooling 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

System-level information and security documentation are excluded from backup scope, with only user data backed up, contrary to b and c
Backup media are stored unencrypted or with unrestricted access, failing to protect backup confidentiality and integrity under d

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

CP-8(5) Telecommunications Services | Alternate Telecommunication Service Testing · CP-9(1) System Backup | Testing for Reliability and Integrity