# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AT-2(6) — Cyber Threat Environment

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/at-2-6-cyber-threat-environment
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5) › AT — Awareness and Training
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `AT-2(6)`·high·Component: **Awareness and Training**

## What this control requires

> Trains users on the cyber threat environment, integrating current threat information into system operations to enhance situational awareness. This control supports the Cyber Threat Training Module capability within the Awareness and Training family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control AT-2(6)

### In plain English

Trains users on the cyber threat environment, integrating current threat information into system operations to enhance situational awareness. In practice, this means you can prove you policy management-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

SP 800-53 is the catalogue every U.S. federal authorisation (FedRAMP, FISMA, CMMC) and most regulated industries point at. A missing control surfaces as a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) item that an Authorizing Official must approve before the Authority To Operate is granted or renewed.

This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

## What an auditor looks for

A 3PAO (FedRAMP) or Independent Assessor (NIST RMF) tests against NIST SP 800-53A assessment procedures. For each control they expect a documented implementation that addresses every assessment objective (Examine, Interview, Test) and an implementation summary in the System Security Plan.

Within **Awareness and Training**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control AT-2(6)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Policy Management

**Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA.

### Operational checklist

-   **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Cyber.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **System.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Control.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** management, information, threat environment, system, capability, operations, policy, situational awareness.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Cyber Threat Environment.

## Common pitfalls

-   Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.

## How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

-   [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.7** — Threat intelligence](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-7-threat-intelligence)

## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

-   [**Control SA-8** — Security And Privacy Engineering Principles](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-8-security-and-privacy-engineering-principles)
-   [**Control SI-4(17)** — Integrated Situational Awareness](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-4-17-integrated-situational-awareness)
-   [**Control PM-16(1)** — Automated Means For Sharing Threat Intelligence](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pm-16-1-automated-means-for-sharing-threat-intelligence)
-   [**Control AT-2(2)** — Insider Threat](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/at-2-2-insider-threat)
-   [**Control SA-15(8)** — Reuse Of Threat And Vulnerability Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-15-8-reuse-of-threat-and-vulnerability-information)
-   [**Control SI-3(10)** — Malicious Code Analysis](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-3-10-malicious-code-analysis)

## References

-   [NIST Computer Security Resource Center — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/risk-management/sp800-53-controls)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Control AT-2(6)`

Topics: awareness trainingpolicy managementthreat intelligence

## Related compliance guidance

- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): Start with the full NIST SP 800-53 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs.
- [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If your obligation is protecting CUI in your own systems for a federal or defence contract, this derived subset — not the full catalogue — is the requirement.
- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most commercial SaaS already hold a SOC 2 Type 2, and FedRAMP 20x Class A is designed for providers that have one.