PE-17_alternate-work-site

PE-17 Alternate Work Site

High-Level Description

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

Alternate work sites include government facilities or the private residences of employees. While distinct from alternative processing sites, alternate work sites can provide readily available alternate locations during contingency operations. Organizations can define different sets of controls for specific alternate work sites or types of sites depending on the work-related activities conducted at the sites. Implementing and assessing the effectiveness of organization-defined controls and providing a means to communicate incidents at alternate work sites supports the contingency planning activities of organizations.

What to Check

• Verify PE-17 Alternate Work Site is documented in SSP
• Validate all 4 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for PE-17

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PE-17 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

Determine and document the [organization-defined] allowed for use by employees; Employ the following controls at alternate work sites: [organization-defined]; Assess the effectiveness of controls at alternate work sites; and Provide a means for employees to communicate with information security and privacy personnel in case of incidents.

Implementation Guidance

Alternate work sites include government facilities or the private residences of employees. While distinct from alternative processing sites, alternate work sites can provide readily available alternate locations during contingency operations. Organizations can define different sets of controls for specific alternate work sites or types of sites depending on the work-related activities conducted at the sites. Implementing and assessing the effectiveness of organization-defined controls and providing a means to communicate incidents at alternate work sites supports the contingency planning activities of organizations.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - PE-17
• 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 (AC-17, AC-18, CP-7) reviewed