# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 PE-8(3) — Limit Personally Identifiable Information Elements

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-8-3-limit-personally-identifiable-information-elements
- 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) › PE — Physical and Environmental Protection
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `PE-8(3)`·high·Component: **Physical and Environmental Protection**

## What this control requires

> The control for limiting personally identifiable information (PII) in visitor access records ensures that only the necessary elements, identified through a privacy risk assessment, are included. This reduces privacy risks associated with storing excessive PII and ensures compliance with privacy standards. This control supports the Data privacy Management Systems capability within the Physical and Environmental Protection family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control PE-8(3)

### In plain English

The control for limiting personally identifiable information (PII) in visitor access records ensures that only the necessary elements, identified through a privacy risk assessment, are included. 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 **Physical and Environmental Protection**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control PE-8(3)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Physical Security

**Inheritance.** For cloud-only operations, inherit physical controls from the provider's SOC 2 / ISO 27001 report and document the inheritance in the SoA.

#### 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.

#### Vulnerability Management

**Scanners.** Pair an unauthenticated scanner (Nessus / Qualys / Tenable.io) for external surface with an authenticated agent for OS/library CVEs on every host.

**SLA.** Document remediation SLAs by CVSS / EPSS: critical 7 days, high 30 days, medium 90 days; report monthly trend to leadership.

**Containers.** Scan images in CI (Trivy / Grype / Snyk Container) AND at runtime; block deploys on critical findings without exception.

### 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.
-   **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** management, information, privacy, only, personally identifiable information, records, personally identifiable information elements, protection.

## Evidence to collect

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

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Limit Personally Identifiable Information Elements.

## Common pitfalls

-   Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.
-   Scans that hit only the perimeter; missing authenticated scans of OS, runtime libs and base images so most CVEs are invisible.

## 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) 164.310(a)(2)(iv)** — Facility Access Controls - Maintain Maintenance Records](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-310-a-2-iv-facility-access-controls-maintain-maintenance-records)

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

-   [**Control SI-12(1)** — Limit Personally Identifiable Information Elements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-12-1-limit-personally-identifiable-information-elements)
-   [**Control AU-3(3)** — Limit Personally Identifiable Information Elements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-3-3-limit-personally-identifiable-information-elements)
-   [**Control SI-19(3)** — Release](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-19-3-release)
-   [**Control PM-5(1)** — Inventory Of Personally Identifiable Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pm-5-1-inventory-of-personally-identifiable-information)
-   [**Control SC-16** — Transmission Of Security And Privacy Attributes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-16-transmission-of-security-and-privacy-attributes)
-   [**Control SI-18(1)** — Automation Support](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-18-1-automation-support)

## 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 PE-8(3)`

Topics: governance riskdata protectionprivacy managementphysical securitypolicy managementvulnerability 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.