# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-4 — Information In Shared System Resources - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-4-information-in-shared-system-resources - 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) › SC — System and Communications Protection - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `SC-4`·high·Component: **System and Communications Protection** ## What this control requires > Prevent unauthorized and unintended information transfer via shared system resources. Ensure prior user data--including encrypted representations--is inaccessible to current users after resource release. This control supports the Residual Information Protection Protocol capability within the System and Communications Protection family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control SC-4 ### In plain English Prevent unauthorized and unintended information transfer via shared system resources. 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 **System and Communications Protection**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control SC-4) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement 1. Write a short policy stating intent, scope and named owner. 2. Encode it as a platform guardrail — SCP, Azure Policy initiative, Organisation Policy, or repository policy. 3. Wire a monitoring signal that catches drift (CSPM rule, SIEM rule, scheduled query, Workspace alert) and ticket it. 4. Review on a documented cadence and capture the review in the risk register or compliance tracker. ### Operational checklist - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Protection.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, information, release, system, information transfer, protection, identity, review. ## 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. Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Information In Shared System Resources. ## 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. - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) P5.1** — Data Subject Access to Personal Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p5-1-data-subject-access-to-personal-information) - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.13.4** — Information in Shared System Resources](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-13-4-information-in-shared-system-resources) - [**BSI C5:2020 IDM-08** — Confidentiality of authentication information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/idm-08-confidentiality-of-authentication-information) - [**CIS Controls v8 9.2** — Use DNS Filtering Services](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/9-2-use-dns-filtering-services) - [**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) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control SC-23** — Session Authenticity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-23-session-authenticity) - [**Control SC-12(1)** — Availability](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-12-1-availability) - [**Control SC-8(5)** — Protected Distribution System](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-8-5-protected-distribution-system) - [**Control SC-7(3)** — Access Points](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-7-3-access-points) - [**Control AU-10(4)** — Validate Binding Of Information Reviewer Identity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-10-4-validate-binding-of-information-reviewer-identity) - [**Control SC-42(1)** — Reporting To Authorized Individuals Or Roles](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-42-1-reporting-to-authorized-individuals-or-roles) ## 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 SC-4` Topics: identity accessdata protectionidentity managementaccess reviewprivileged access ## 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.