IR-4(15)_public-relations-and-reputation-repair

IR-4(15) Public Relations and Reputation Repair

Enhancement of: IR-4

High-Level Description

Family: Incident Response (IR) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

It is important for an organization to have a strategy in place for addressing incidents that have been brought to the attention of the general public, have cast the organization in a negative light, or have affected the organization’s constituents (e.g., partners, customers). Such publicity can be extremely harmful to the organization and affect its ability to carry out its mission and business functions. Taking proactive steps to repair the organization’s reputation is an essential aspect of reestablishing the trust and confidence of its constituents.

What to Check

• Verify IR-4(15) Public Relations and Reputation Repair is documented in SSP
• Validate all 2 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for IR-4(15)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control IR-4

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for IR-4(15) 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

Manage public relations associated with an incident; and Employ measures to repair the reputation of the organization.

Implementation Guidance

It is important for an organization to have a strategy in place for addressing incidents that have been brought to the attention of the general public, have cast the organization in a negative light, or have affected the organization’s constituents (e.g., partners, customers). Such publicity can be extremely harmful to the organization and affect its ability to carry out its mission and business functions. Taking proactive steps to repair the organization’s reputation is an essential aspect of reestablishing the trust and confidence of its constituents.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - IR-4(15)
• 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