NIST 800-53 REV 5 • AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
AU-1 — Policy and Procedures
Develop, document, and disseminate to {{ insert: param, au-1_prm_1 }}: {{ insert: param, au-01_odp.03 }} audit and accountability policy that: Procedures to facilitate the implementation of the audit and accountability policy and the associated audit and accountability controls; Designate an {{ insert: param, au-01_odp.04 }} to manage the development, documentation, and dissemination of the audit and accountability policy and procedures; and Review and update the current audit and accountability: Policy {{ insert: param, au-01_odp.05 }} and following {{ insert: param, au-01_odp.06 }} ; and Procedures {{ insert: param, au-01_odp.07 }} and following {{ insert: param, au-01_odp.08 }}.
Supplemental Guidance
Audit and accountability policy and procedures address the controls in the AU family that are implemented within systems and organizations. The risk management strategy is an important factor in establishing such policies and procedures. Policies and procedures contribute to security and privacy assurance. Therefore, it is important that security and privacy programs collaborate on the development of audit and accountability policy and procedures. Security and privacy program policies and procedures at the organization level are preferable, in general, and may obviate the need for mission- or system-specific policies and procedures. The policy can be included as part of the general security and privacy policy or be represented by multiple policies that reflect the complex nature of organizations. Procedures can be established for security and privacy programs, for mission or business processes, and for systems, if needed. Procedures describe how the policies or controls are implemented and can be directed at the individual or role that is the object of the procedure. Procedures can be documented in system security and privacy plans or in one or more separate documents. Events that may precipitate an update to audit and accountability policy and procedures include assessment or audit findings, security incidents or breaches, or changes in applicable laws, executive orders, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines. Simply restating controls does not constitute an organizational policy or procedure.
Practitioner Notes
You need a written audit and accountability policy that defines what gets logged, who reviews the logs, how long they are kept, and who is responsible for the program. Without this policy, your logging is ad hoc and indefensible.
Example 1: Create an Audit and Accountability Policy document that specifies: all systems must log authentication events, privilege use, and system changes; logs are reviewed weekly by the security team; logs are retained for at least 1 year (90 days online, remainder in archive). Assign your ISSO as the policy owner.
Example 2: Create SOPs for audit log management. Cover procedures for daily log ingestion verification (is the SIEM receiving logs from all sources?), weekly log review, quarterly audit of logging configurations, and incident-triggered deep-dive analysis. Store the SOPs alongside your policy in your document management system.