# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AU-5(5) — Alternate Audit Logging Capability - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-5-5-alternate-audit-logging-capability - 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) › AU — Audit and Accountability - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `AU-5(5)`·high·Component: **Audit and Accountability** ## What this control requires > Provides alternate audit logging capability with defined functionality to maintain logging during primary system failures. This control supports the Alternate Logging System capability within the Audit and Accountability family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control AU-5(5) ### In plain English Provides alternate audit logging capability with defined functionality to maintain logging during primary system failures. 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 **Audit and Accountability**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control AU-5(5)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Logging Monitoring **AWS.** Org-trail CloudTrail to a central log archive account, GuardDuty in every region, and Security Hub for cross-source correlation. **Azure.** Pipe every diagnostic setting into a central Log Analytics workspace; onboard Microsoft Sentinel for SIEM/SOAR. **GCP.** Aggregate audit logs in a dedicated logging project with sink to BigQuery; enable Security Command Center Premium and route findings to Chronicle SIEM. #### 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. - **Audit.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Alternate Audit.** 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, system, functionality, capability, accountability, policy. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. - **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Alternate Audit Logging Capability. ## Common pitfalls - Per-account logging that nobody stitches together at the org level — incidents that cross accounts go undetected for days. - 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.8.15** — Logging](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-15-logging) - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.3.4** — Response to Audit Logging Process Failures](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-3-4-response-to-audit-logging-process-failures) - [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.310(d)(2)(iii)** — Device and Media Controls - Accountability](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-310-d-2-iii-device-and-media-controls-accountability) - [**BSI C5:2020 COM-02** — Policy for planning and conducting audits](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/com-02-policy-for-planning-and-conducting-audits) - [**CIS Controls v8 8.2** — Collect Audit Logs](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-2-collect-audit-logs) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control AU-14** — Session Audit](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-14-session-audit) - [**Control AU-14(1)** — System Start-Up](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-14-1-system-start-up) - [**Control AU-5(4)** — Shutdown On Failure](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-5-4-shutdown-on-failure) - [**Control AU-16** — Cross-Organizational Audit Logging](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-16-cross-organizational-audit-logging) - [**Control AU-5(2)** — Real-Time Alerts](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-5-2-real-time-alerts) - [**Control AU-1** — Policy And Procedures](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-1-policy-and-procedures) ## 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 AU-5(5)` Topics: governance risklogging monitoringpolicy management ## 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.