NIST Special Publication 800-171 Revision 2

Date Published: January 28th, 2021

Withdrawn on May 14, 2024. Superseded by SP 800-171 Rev. 3

Author(s): Ron Ross (NIST), Victoria Pillitteri (NIST), Kelley Dempsey (NIST), Mark Riddle (NARA), Gary Guissanie (IDA)

Note: A Class Deviation is in effect as of May 2, 2024 (DEVIATION 2024O0013). The deviation clause requires contractors, who are subject to 252.204-7012, to comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 Revision 2, instead of the version of NIST SP 800-171 in effect at the time the solicitation is issued or as authorized by the contracting officer. Click Here

3.5.5 Prevent reuse of identifiers for a defined period.

Control Family: Identification and Authentication

Control Type: Derived

SPRS Value: 1

SPRS Supplemental Guidance: N/A

CMMC Level(s): IA.L2-3.5.5

Top Ten Failed Requirement: No

DIBCAC HIGH Failure Rate (OTS):

84th of 110

Referenced in:

DFARS 252.204-7012

Derived From: NIST SP 800-53r4

  • IA-4

NIST Supplemental Guidance:

N/A

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.5.5 → MITRE ATT&CK 14.1

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.5.5 → MITRE ATT&CK 14.1

Mapping note: MITRE ATT&CK 14.1 techniques are derived through the NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4 controls mapped to each NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 requirement.

Summary

  • Total mappings: 35
  • Families: 1
  • Outer ring: Technique ID + name
  • MITRE ATT&CK version: 14.1

Family counts

  • Identifier Management: 35 techniques

Usage notes

  • Click a family or technique to zoom in.
  • Click the center to zoom back out.
  • Hover to view technique details.

Discussion:

Identifiers are provided for users, processes acting on behalf of users, or devices (3.5.1). Preventing reuse of identifiers implies preventing the assignment of previously used individual, group, role, or device identifiers to different individuals, groups, roles, or devices.

Determining Statements (NIST SP 800-171Ar2)

3.5.5[a] a period within which identifiers cannot be reused is defined
3.5.5[b] reuse of identifiers is prevented within the defined period.

Assessors are instructed to-

Examine: [SELECT FROM: Identification and authentication policy; procedures addressing identifier management; procedures addressing account management; system security plan; system design documentation; system configuration settings and associated documentation; list of system accounts; list of identifiers generated from physical access control devices; other relevant documents or records].

Interview: [SELECT FROM: Personnel with identifier management responsibilities; personnel with information security responsibilities; system or network administrators; system developers].

Test: [SELECT FROM: Mechanisms supporting or implementing identifier management].

FURTHER DISCUSSION

Identifiers uniquely associate a user ID to an individual, group, role, or device. Establish guidelines and implement mechanisms to prevent identifiers from being reused for the period of time established in the policy.

Example

As a system administrator, you maintain a central directory/domain that holds the accounts for users, computers, and network devices. As part of your job, you issue unique usernames (e.g., riley@acme.com) for the staff to access resources. When you issue staff computers you also rename the computer to reflect to whom it is assigned (e.g., riley-laptop01). Riley has recently left the organization, so you must manage the former staff member’s account. Incidentally, their replacement is also named Riley. In the directory, you do not assign the previous account to the new user, as policy has defined an identifier reuse period of 24 months [a]. In accordance with policy, you create an account called riley02 [b]. This account is assigned the appropriate permissions for the new user. A new laptop is also provided with the identifier of riley02-laptop01.

Potential Assessment Considerations

  • Are accounts uniquely assigned to employees, contractors, and subcontractors [b]?

  • Are account identifiers reused [b]?

ISO/IEC 27001:2013

A.9.2.1 User registration and de-registration

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.5.5 → MITRE ATT&CK
MITRE ATT&CK v14.1

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.5.5 → MITRE ATT&CK

Total Mappings

35
technique references

Families

1
Identifier Management

Control

3.5.5
IA.L2-3.5.5

Identifier Management 35 techniques

  • T1003OS Credential Dumping
  • T1003.005Cached Domain Credentials
  • T1003.006DCSync
  • T1021.001Remote Desktop Protocol
  • T1021.005VNC
  • T1053Scheduled Task/Job
  • T1053.002At (Windows)
  • T1053.005Scheduled Task
  • T1110Brute Force
  • T1110.001Password Guessing
  • T1110.002Password Cracking
  • T1110.003Password Spraying
  • T1110.004Credential Stuffing
  • T1213Data from Information Repositories
  • T1213.001Confluence
  • T1213.002Sharepoint
  • T1528Steal Application Access Token
  • T1530Data from Cloud Storage Object
  • T1537Transfer Data to Cloud Account
  • T1543Create or Modify System Process
  • T1543.003Windows Service
  • T1543.004Launch Daemon
  • T1547.006Kernel Modules and Extensions
  • T1550.001Application Access Token
  • T1552Unsecured Credentials
  • T1552.005Cloud Instance Metadata API
  • T1562Impair Defenses
  • T1563Remote Service Session Hijacking
  • T1578Modify Cloud Compute Infrastructure
  • T1578.001Create Snapshot
  • T1578.002Create Cloud Instance
  • T1578.003Delete Cloud Instance
  • T1602Data from Configuration Repository
  • T1602.001SNMP (MIB Dump)
  • T1602.002Network Device Configuration Dump

Frameworks & Controls