PE-14_environmental-controls

PE-14 Environmental Controls

High-Level Description

Family: Physical and Environmental Protection (PE) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

The provision of environmental controls applies primarily to organizational facilities that contain concentrations of system resources (e.g., data centers, mainframe computer rooms, and server rooms). Insufficient environmental controls, especially in very harsh environments, can have a significant adverse impact on the availability of systems and system components that are needed to support organizational mission and business functions.

What to Check

• Verify PE-14 Environmental Controls is documented in SSP
• Validate all 2 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for PE-14

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PE-14 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

Maintain [organization-defined] levels within the facility where the system resides at [organization-defined] ; and Monitor environmental control levels [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

The provision of environmental controls applies primarily to organizational facilities that contain concentrations of system resources (e.g., data centers, mainframe computer rooms, and server rooms). Insufficient environmental controls, especially in very harsh environments, can have a significant adverse impact on the availability of systems and system components that are needed to support organizational mission and business functions.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - PE-14
• 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 (AT-3, CP-2) reviewed