IA-5(16)_in-person-or-trusted-external-party-authenticator-issuance

IA-5(16) In-person or Trusted External Party Authenticator Issuance

Enhancement of: IA-5

High-Level Description

Family: Identification and Authentication (IA) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Issuing authenticators in person or by a trusted external party enhances and reinforces the trustworthiness of the identity proofing process.

What to Check

• Verify IA-5(16) In-person or Trusted External Party Authenticator Issuance is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for IA-5(16)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control IA-5

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for IA-5(16) 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

Require that the issuance of [organization-defined] be conducted [organization-defined] before [organization-defined] with authorization by [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Issuing authenticators in person or by a trusted external party enhances and reinforces the trustworthiness of the identity proofing process.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - IA-5(16)
• 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 (IA-12) reviewed