Overview
  1. 03.01: Access Control
  2. 03.02: Awareness and Training
  3. 03.03: Audit and Accountability
  4. 03.04: Configuration Management
  5. 03.05: Identification and Authentication
  6. 03.06: Incident Response
  7. 03.07: Maintenance
  8. 03.08: Media Protection
  9. 03.09: Personnel Security
  10. 03.10: Physical Protection
  11. 03.11: Risk Assessment
  12. 03.12: Security Assessment
  13. 03.13: System and Communications Protection
  14. 03.14: System and Information Integrity

Security Requirements for 03.08.07 Removable Media

In contrast to requirement 03.08.01, which restricts user access to media, this requirement restricts the use of certain types of media on systems, for example, restricting or prohibiting the use of flash drives or external hard disk drives. Organizations can employ technical and nontechnical controls (e.g., policies, procedures, and rules of behavior) to control the use of system media. Organizations may control the use of portable storage devices, for example, by using physical cages on workstations to prohibit access to certain external ports, or disabling or removing the ability to insert, read, or write to such devices.Organizations may also limit the use of portable storage devices to only approved devices including devices provided by the organization, devices provided by other approved organizations, and devices that are not personally owned. Finally, organizations may control the use of portable storage devices based on the type of device, prohibiting the use of writeable, portable devices, and implementing this restriction by disabling or removing the capability to write to such devices.

Assessment GuidanceExamine 0/9

How an assessor determines this requirement is met. Source: CMMC Assessment Guide – Level 2, Version 2.13 (NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2).

Discussion

Removable media are any type of media storage that you can remove from your computer or machine (e.g., CDs, DVDs, diskettes, and USB drives). Write a specific policy for removable media. The policy should cover the various types of removable media (e.g., write-once media and rewritable media) and should discuss the company’s approach to removable media. Ensure the following controls are considered and included in the policy:

limit the use of removable media to the smallest number needed; and scan all removable media for viruses.

Examples

  1. Example 1

    You are in charge of IT operations. You establish a policy for removable media that includes USB drives [a]. The policy information such as:

  2. Example 2

    only USB drives issued by the organization may be used; and USB drives are to be used for work purposes only [a].

  3. Example 3

    You set up a separate computer to scan these drives before anyone uses them on the network. This computer has anti-virus software installed that is kept up to date.

Assessment Methods

Examine
The process of reviewing, inspecting, observing, studying, or analyzing assessment objects (e.g., policies, procedures, plans, system designs, mechanisms) to facilitate understanding, achieve clarification, or obtain evidence.Example: An assessor reads the access control policy and inspects system configuration settings to confirm they match.

Not all of the evidence listed is required to meet this requirement — check the items your organization has collected.

Interview
The process of holding discussions with individuals or groups within an organization to facilitate understanding, achieve clarification, or identify the location of evidence.Example: An assessor asks a system administrator to describe how user accounts are approved, reviewed, and disabled.
  • Personnel with system media use responsibilities
  • Personnel with information security responsibilities
  • System or network administrators
Test
The process of exercising assessment objects (e.g., activities, mechanisms) under specified conditions to compare actual behavior with expected behavior.Example: An assessor attempts to sign in with a disabled account to confirm that access is denied.
  • Organizational processes for media use
  • Mechanisms restricting or prohibiting use of system media on systems or system components

Potential Assessment Considerations

  • Are removable media allowed [a]?
  • Are policies and/or procedures in use to control the use of removable media [a]?

Key References

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 3.8.7

Evidence

  1. 03.08.07.a

    The use of removable media on system components is controlled