# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 IA-8 — Identification And Authentication (Non-Organizational Users) - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-8-identification-and-authentication-non-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-8`·medium·Component: **Identification and Authentication** ## What this control requires > It uniquely identifying and authenticating non-organizational users or processes acting on their behalf, beyond those covered by IA-2. This ensures secure access to federal systems containing sensitive, proprietary, or privacy-related information, balancing ease of use with security, privacy, scalability, and risk mitigation. This control supports the Identity Managemnt Solution capability within the Identification and Authentication family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control IA-8 ### In plain English It uniquely identifying and authenticating non-organizational users or processes acting on their behalf, beyond those covered by IA-2. 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. ## 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-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. - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, information, privacy, authentication, identity, review, capability, authentication (non-organizational users). ## 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. Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Identification And Authentication (Non-Organizational Users). ## 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. - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.5.1** — User Identification and Authentication](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-5-1-user-identification-and-authentication) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.2** — Information security roles and responsibilities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-2-information-security-roles-and-responsibilities) - [**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) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC6.2** — Access Provisioning](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc6-2-access-provisioning) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control IA-2** — Identification And Authentication (Organizational Users)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-2-identification-and-authentication-organizational-users) - [**Control IA-5(15)** — Gsa-Approved Products And Services](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-5-15-gsa-approved-products-and-services) - [**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-4(5)** — Dynamic Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-4-5-dynamic-management) - [**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-2(1)** — Multi-Factor Authentication To Privileged Accounts](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ia-2-1-multi-factor-authentication-to-privileged-accounts) ## 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-8` Topics: governance riskidentity accessprivileged accessidentity managementaccess reviewpolicy 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.