What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on MP-4 Media Storage?

System media protection policy; Procedures addressing media storage; Physical and environmental protection policy and procedures; Access control policy and procedures; System media; Designated controlled areas.

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

Media types and controlled areas for secure storage are not defined, and sensitive media sits in open office areas

NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 · MP - Media Protection

`MP-4` Media Storage

a. Physically control and securely store organization-defined types of digital and/or non-digital media within organization-defined controlled areas; and b. Protect system media types defined in MP-4a until the media are destroyed or sanitized using approved equipment, techniques, and procedures.

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, MP-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 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

none for this control

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

Test of Organizational processes for storing information media; mechanisms supporting and/or implementing secure media storage/media protection · Data governance / DLP tooling

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

System media protection policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Procedures addressing media storage · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Physical and environmental protection policy and procedures · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Access control policy and procedures · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System media · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Designated controlled areas · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System security plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

No system holds this evidence for you: it is people and documents. Reminders and routing to the owner still save time. Put the document under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a record with reviewer and date.

Common gaps auditors find

Media types and controlled areas for secure storage are not defined, and sensitive media sits in open office areas
Media awaiting disposal is left unprotected in unsecured bins instead of being controlled until sanitized or destroyed

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-3 Media Marking · MP-4(2) Media Storage | Automated Restricted Access