SC-36(1)_polling-techniques

SC-36(1) Polling Techniques

Enhancement of: SC-36

High-Level Description

Family: System and Communications Protection (SC) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Distributed processing and/or storage may be used to reduce opportunities for adversaries to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of organizational information and systems. However, the distribution of processing and storage components does not prevent adversaries from compromising one or more of the components. Polling compares the processing results and/or storage content from the distributed components and subsequently votes on the outcomes. Polling identifies potential faults, compromises, or errors in the distributed processing and storage components.

What to Check

• Verify SC-36(1) Polling Techniques is documented in SSP
• Validate all 2 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for SC-36(1)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control SC-36

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for SC-36(1) 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

Employ polling techniques to identify potential faults, errors, or compromises to the following processing and storage components: [organization-defined] ; and Take the following actions in response to identified faults, errors, or compromises: [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Distributed processing and/or storage may be used to reduce opportunities for adversaries to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of organizational information and systems. However, the distribution of processing and storage components does not prevent adversaries from compromising one or more of the components. Polling compares the processing results and/or storage content from the distributed components and subsequently votes on the outcomes. Polling identifies potential faults, compromises, or errors in the distributed processing and storage components.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - SC-36(1)
• 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 (SI-4) reviewed