# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 IA-2 — Identification And Authentication (Organizational Users) - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-2-identification-and-authentication-organizational-users - 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) › IA — Identification and Authentication - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `IA-2`·high·Component: **Identification and Authentication** ## What this control requires > Uniquely identify/authenticate organizational users, linking identities to processes for secure local/network/remote access using passwords, authenticators, or biometrics. This control supports the Authentication capability within the Identification and Authentication family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control IA-2 ### In plain English Uniquely identify/authenticate organizational users, linking identities to processes for secure local/network/remote access using passwords, authenticators, or biometrics. In practice, this means you can prove you access 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 **Identification and Authentication**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control IA-2) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Network Security **AWS.** VPC Flow Logs to S3, default-deny security groups, AWS Network Firewall for north-south, and Transit Gateway for hub-and-spoke segmentation. **Azure.** NSGs with deny-by-default, Azure Firewall Premium with TLS inspection, Private Endpoints for PaaS, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud's secure score for drift. **GCP.** VPC Service Controls perimeters around sensitive APIs, Cloud NGFW Enterprise for L7 inspection, Private Service Connect for managed services. ### Operational checklist - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Network.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Remote.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, authentication, identity, review, capability, authentication (organizational users), authenticators, biometrics. ## Evidence to collect - **Identity Scan.** IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in. - **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. Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Identification And Authentication (Organizational Users). ## Common pitfalls - Default-allow egress rules; East-West traffic with no segmentation; jump hosts on the public internet with password auth. ## 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. - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.5.12** — Authenticator Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-5-12-authenticator-management) - [**CIS Controls v8 6.1** — Establish an Access Granting Process](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/6-1-establish-an-access-granting-process) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.7.2** — Physical entry](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-7-2-physical-entry) - [**ISO/IEC 27701:2025 A.3.8** — Identity management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-3-8-identity-management) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC1.5** — Accountability for Internal Control Responsibilities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc1-5-accountability-for-internal-control-responsibilities) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control IA-8** — Identification And Authentication (Non-Organizational Users)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-8-identification-and-authentication-non-organizational-users) - [**Control IA-5(6)** — Protection Of Authenticators](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-5-6-protection-of-authenticators) - [**Control IA-5(13)** — Expiration Of Cached Authenticators](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-5-13-expiration-of-cached-authenticators) - [**Control IA-2(4)** — Local Access To Non-Privileged Accounts](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-2-4-local-access-to-non-privileged-accounts) - [**Control IA-5** — Authenticator Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-5-authenticator-management) - [**Control IA-2(9)** — Network Access To Non-Privileged Accounts -- Replay Resistant](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-2-9-network-access-to-non-privileged-accounts-replay-resistant) ## 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 IA-2` Topics: governance riskidentity accessidentity managementaccess reviewprivileged accessnetwork security ## 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.