EvidenceSheet
NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 · PL - Planning

PL-4 Rules of Behavior

a. Establish and provide to individuals requiring access to the system, the rules that describe their responsibilities and expected behavior for information and system usage, security, and privacy; b. Receive a documented acknowledgment from such individuals, indicating that they have read, understand, and agree to abide by the rules of behavior, before authorizing access to information and the system; c. Review and update the rules of behavior organization-defined frequency; and d. Require individuals who have acknowledged a previous version of the rules of behavior to read and re-acknowledge Selection (one or more): [organization-defined frequency; when the rules are revised or updated].

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, PL-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.

6
artefacts
2
held by a system
3
at each review
moderate
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

  • Procedures addressing rules of behavior for system users · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Rules of behavior · Cloud console / configuration management

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Signed acknowledgements · HR system / LMS
  • Records for rules of behavior reviews and updates · Document repository
  • Test of Organizational processes for establishing, reviewing, disseminating, and updating rules of behavior; mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the establishment, review, dissemination, and update of rules of behavior · Document repository

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Security and privacy planning policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Start with the 2 of 6 artefacts that already live in a system (Policy repository / GRC workspace); keep the periodic reviews but log each one as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

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.

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PL-2 System Security and Privacy Plans · PL-4(1) Rules of Behavior | Social Media and External Site/Application Usage Restrictions