PE-18 Location of System Components
Position system components within the facility to minimize potential damage from organization-defined physical and environmental hazards and to minimize the opportunity for unauthorized access.
Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, PE-18. 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
none for this control
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
- Test of Organizational processes for positioning system components · Physical access / facilities
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
- Physical and environmental protection policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Procedures addressing the positioning of system components · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Documentation providing the location and position of system components within the facility · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Locations housing system components within the facility · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- List of physical and environmental hazards with the potential to damage system components within the facility · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- System security plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- System components are positioned near known physical hazards such as water pipes or exterior windows without mitigation
- Component placement does not consider unauthorized access, with equipment located in shared or high-traffic 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