| name | PM-18_privacy-program-plan |
| description | Develop and disseminate an organization-wide privacy program plan that provides an overview of the agency’s privacy program, and: Includes a descripti |
| category | configuration |
| version | 5.2.0 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["nist","sp800-53","rev5","pm-18","pm"] |
| tech_stack | ["any"] |
| cwe_ids | [] |
| chains_with | ["PM-8","PM-9","PM-19"] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {"PM-8":"Chain with PM-8 for comprehensive security coverage","PM-9":"Chain with PM-9 for comprehensive security coverage","PM-19":"Chain with PM-19 for comprehensive security coverage"} |
PM-18 Privacy Program Plan
High-Level Description
Family: Program Management (PM)
Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5
A privacy program plan is a formal document that provides an overview of an organization’s privacy program, including a description of the structure of the privacy program, the resources dedicated to the privacy program, the role of the senior agency official for privacy and other privacy officials and staff, the strategic goals and objectives of the privacy program, and the program management controls and common controls in place or planned for meeting applicable privacy requirements and managing privacy risks. Privacy program plans can be represented in single documents or compilations of documents.
The senior agency official for privacy is responsible for designating which privacy controls the organization will treat as program management, common, system-specific, and hybrid controls. Privacy program plans provide sufficient information about the privacy program management and common controls (including the specification of parameters and assignment and selection operations explicitly or by reference) to enable control implementations that are unambiguously compliant with the intent of the plans and a determination of the risk incurred if the plans are implemented as intended.
Program management controls are generally implemented at the organization level and are essential for managing the organization’s privacy program. Program management controls are distinct from common, system-specific, and hybrid controls because program management controls are independent of any particular information system. Together, the privacy plans for individual systems and the organization-wide privacy program plan provide complete coverage for the privacy controls employed within the organization.
Common controls are documented in an appendix to the organization’s privacy program plan unless the controls are included in a separate privacy plan for a system. The organization-wide privacy program plan indicates which separate privacy plans contain descriptions of privacy controls.
What to Check
How to Test
Step 1: Review Documentation
Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PM-18 implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.
Step 2: Validate Implementation
