PM-9_risk-management-strategy

PM-9 Risk Management Strategy

High-Level Description

Family: Program Management (PM) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

An organization-wide risk management strategy includes an expression of the security and privacy risk tolerance for the organization, security and privacy risk mitigation strategies, acceptable risk assessment methodologies, a process for evaluating security and privacy risk across the organization with respect to the organization’s risk tolerance, and approaches for monitoring risk over time. The senior accountable official for risk management (agency head or designated official) aligns information security management processes with strategic, operational, and budgetary planning processes. The risk executive function, led by the senior accountable official for risk management, can facilitate consistent application of the risk management strategy organization-wide. The risk management strategy can be informed by security and privacy risk-related inputs from other sources, both internal and external to the organization, to ensure that the strategy is broad-based and comprehensive. The supply chain risk management strategy described in PM-30 can also provide useful inputs to the organization-wide risk management strategy.

What to Check

• Verify PM-9 Risk Management Strategy is documented in SSP
• Validate all 4 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for PM-9

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PM-9 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

Develops a comprehensive strategy to manage: Security risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation associated with the operation and use of organizational systems; and Privacy risk to individuals resulting from the authorized processing of personally identifiable information; Implement the risk management strategy consistently across the organization; and Review and update the risk management strategy [organization-defined] or as required, to address organizational changes.

Implementation Guidance

An organization-wide risk management strategy includes an expression of the security and privacy risk tolerance for the organization, security and privacy risk mitigation strategies, acceptable risk assessment methodologies, a process for evaluating security and privacy risk across the organization with respect to the organization’s risk tolerance, and approaches for monitoring risk over time. The senior accountable official for risk management (agency head or designated official) aligns information security management processes with strategic, operational, and budgetary planning processes. The risk executive function, led by the senior accountable official for risk management, can facilitate consistent application of the risk management strategy organization-wide. The risk management strategy can be informed by security and privacy risk-related inputs from other sources, both internal and external to the organization, to ensure that the strategy is broad-based and comprehensive. The supply chain risk management strategy described in PM-30 can also provide useful inputs to the organization-wide risk management strategy.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - PM-9
• 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-1, AU-1, AT-1, CA-1, CA-2) reviewed