NIST SP 800-53

NIST Special Publication 800-53 is the comprehensive catalog of security and privacy controls used to protect federal information systems. It contains over 1,000 controls organized into 20 families covering everything from access control to system integrity. Think of it as the master list of every security measure the government has defined.

While NIST SP 800-171 (used for CMMC) draws from 800-53, the full 800-53 catalog is much broader and is primarily used in the RMF process for federal systems. Each control includes a description, supplemental guidance, and related controls.

Defense contractors encounter 800-53 when working on government systems that go through RMF, or when the 800-171 requirements reference their parent 800-53 controls for additional context.