ir-4-4-information-correlation

name	IR-4(4)_information-correlation
description	Correlate incident information and individual incident responses to achieve an organization-wide perspective on incident awareness and response.
category	configuration
version	5.2.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["nist","sp800-53","rev5","ir-4-4","ir","enhancement"]
tech_stack	["any"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	["IR-4"]
severity_boost	{}

IR-4(4) Information Correlation

Enhancement of: IR-4

High-Level Description

Family: Incident Response (IR) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Sometimes, a threat event, such as a hostile cyber-attack, can only be observed by bringing together information from different sources, including various reports and reporting procedures established by organizations.

What to Check

• Verify IR-4(4) Information Correlation is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for IR-4(4)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control IR-4

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for IR-4(4) implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

Step 2: Validate Implementation

# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null

Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

Tools

Tool	Purpose	Usage
Manual Review	Documentation and interview-based	N/A

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Correlate incident information and individual incident responses to achieve an organization-wide perspective on incident awareness and response.

Implementation Guidance

Sometimes, a threat event, such as a hostile cyber-attack, can only be observed by bringing together information from different sources, including various reports and reporting procedures established by organizations.

Risk Assessment

Finding	Severity	Impact
IR-4(4) Information Correlation not implemented	Medium