AU-5(2)_real-time-alerts

AU-5(2) Real-time Alerts

Enhancement of: AU-5

High-Level Description

Family: Audit and Accountability (AU) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Alerts provide organizations with urgent messages. Real-time alerts provide these messages at information technology speed (i.e., the time from event detection to alert occurs in seconds or less).

What to Check

• Verify AU-5(2) Real-time Alerts is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for AU-5(2)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control AU-5

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for AU-5(2) implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

Step 2: Validate Implementation

# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null

Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

Tools

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Provide an alert within [organization-defined] to [organization-defined] when the following audit failure events occur: [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Alerts provide organizations with urgent messages. Real-time alerts provide these messages at information technology speed (i.e., the time from event detection to alert occurs in seconds or less).

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - AU-5(2)
• NIST SP 800-53A Rev 5 (Assessment Procedures)
• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 Full Catalog

Checklist

• Control documented in SSP
• Implementation evidence collected
• Operating effectiveness validated
• Continuous monitoring in place
• Related controls (none) reviewed