NIST 800-53 REV 5 • MAINTENANCE
MA-5(2) — Security Clearances for Classified Systems
Verify that personnel performing maintenance and diagnostic activities on a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information possess security clearances and formal access approvals for at least the highest classification level and for compartments of information on the system.
CMMC Practice Mapping
No direct CMMC mapping
NIST 800-171 Mapping
No direct NIST 800-171 mapping
Related Controls
Supplemental Guidance
Personnel who conduct maintenance on organizational systems may be exposed to classified information during the course of their maintenance activities. To mitigate the inherent risk of such exposure, organizations use maintenance personnel that are cleared (i.e., possess security clearances) to the classification level of the information stored on the system.
Practitioner Notes
Personnel performing maintenance on classified systems must possess the appropriate security clearances and formal access approvals for the classification level of the information being processed.
Example 1: Before granting a technician access to a classified system, verify their clearance level through DISS (Defense Information System for Security) or your FSO. Confirm they have been formally read into the relevant program. Document the verification in the maintenance record.
Example 2: Maintain a matrix that maps each classified system to its required clearance level and approved maintenance personnel. When a maintenance request comes in, check the technician against this matrix before granting access. Your FSO should sign off on every maintenance event involving classified systems.