3.8: Media Protection

System media includes digital and non-digital media. Digital media includes diskettes, magnetic tapes, external and removable hard disk drives, flash drives, compact disks, and digital video disks. Non-digital media includes paper and microfilm. Protecting digital media includes limiting access to design specifications stored on compact disks or flash drives in the media library to the…

Access can be limited by physically controlling system media and secure storage areas. Physically controlling system media includes conducting inventories, ensuring procedures are in place to allow individuals to check out and return system media to the media library, and maintaining accountability for all stored media. Secure storage includes a locked drawer, desk, or cabinet,…

This requirement applies to all system media, digital and non-digital, subject to disposal or reuse. Examples include: digital media found in workstations, network components, scanners, copiers, printers, notebook computers, and mobile devices; and non-digital media such as paper and microfilm. The sanitization process removes information from the media such that the information cannot be retrieved…

The term security marking refers to the application or use of human-readable security attributes. System media includes digital and non-digital media. Marking of system media reflects applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, and regulations. See [NARA MARK].

Controlled areas are areas or spaces for which organizations provide physical or procedural controls to meet the requirements established for protecting systems and information. Controls to maintain accountability for media during transport include locked containers and cryptography. Cryptographic mechanisms can provide confidentiality and integrity protections depending upon the mechanisms used. Activities associated with transport include…

This requirement applies to portable storage devices (e.g., USB memory sticks, digital video disks, compact disks, external or removable hard disk drives). See [NIST CRYPTO]. [SP 800-111] provides guidance on storage encryption technologies for end user devices.

In contrast to requirement 3.8.1, which restricts user access to media, this requirement restricts the use of certain types of media on systems, for example, restricting or prohibiting the use of flash drives or external hard disk drives. Organizations can employ technical and nontechnical controls (e.g., policies, procedures, and rules of behavior) to control the…

Requiring identifiable owners (e.g., individuals, organizations, or projects) for portable storage devices reduces the overall risk of using such technologies by allowing organizations to assign responsibility and accountability for addressing known vulnerabilities in the devices (e.g., insertion of malicious code).

Organizations can employ cryptographic mechanisms or alternative physical controls to protect the confidentiality of backup information at designated storage locations. Backed-up information containing CUI may include system-level information and user-level information. System-level information includes system-state information, operating system software, application software, and licenses. User-level information includes information other than system-level information.