# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CP-9(8) — Cryptographic Protection

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-9-8-cryptographic-protection
- 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) › CP — Contingency Planning
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `CP-9(8)`·high·Component: **Contingency Planning**

## What this control requires

> Implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure/modification of backups, ensuring confidentiality and integrity per security category. This control supports the Encryption Software capability within the Contingency Planning family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control CP-9(8)

### In plain English

Implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure/modification of backups, ensuring confidentiality and integrity per security category. 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 **Contingency Planning**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control CP-9(8)) 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.
-   **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Protection.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Cryptographic.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** management, encryption, protection, software, capability, implement, policy, integrity.

## Evidence to collect

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

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Cryptographic Protection.

## 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.

-   [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.312(e)(2)(ii)** — Transmission Security - Encryption](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-312-e-2-ii-transmission-security-encryption)
-   [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) P1.1** — Privacy Notice to Data Subjects](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p1-1-privacy-notice-to-data-subjects)
-   [**BSI C5:2020 SP-01** — Documentation, communication and provision of policies and instructions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/sp-01-documentation-communication-and-provision-of-policies-and-instructions)

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

-   [**Control SC-28(1)** — Cryptographic Protection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-28-1-cryptographic-protection)
-   [**Control MP-8** — Media Downgrading](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/mp-8-media-downgrading)
-   [**Control SI-4(10)** — Visibility Of Encrypted Communications](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-4-10-visibility-of-encrypted-communications)
-   [**Control CP-3(2)** — Mechanisms Used In Training Environments](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-3-2-mechanisms-used-in-training-environments)
-   [**Control CP-7(5)** — Equivalent Information Security Safeguards](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-7-5-equivalent-information-security-safeguards)
-   [**Control CP-9(1)** — Testing For Reliability And Integrity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-9-1-testing-for-reliability-and-integrity)

## 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 CP-9(8)`

Topics: data protectionpolicy 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.