| name | PM-21_accounting-of-disclosures |
| description | Develop and maintain an accurate accounting of disclosures of personally identifiable information, including: Date, nature, and purpose of each disclo |
| category | configuration |
| version | 5.2.0 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["nist","sp800-53","rev5","pm-21","pm"] |
| tech_stack | ["any"] |
| cwe_ids | [] |
| chains_with | ["AC-3","AU-2","PT-2"] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {"AC-3":"Chain with AC-3 for comprehensive security coverage","AU-2":"Chain with AU-2 for comprehensive security coverage","PT-2":"Chain with PT-2 for comprehensive security coverage"} |
PM-21 Accounting of Disclosures
High-Level Description
Family: Program Management (PM)
Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5
The purpose of accounting of disclosures is to allow individuals to learn to whom their personally identifiable information has been disclosed, to provide a basis for subsequently advising recipients of any corrected or disputed personally identifiable information, and to provide an audit trail for subsequent reviews of organizational compliance with conditions for disclosures. For federal agencies, keeping an accounting of disclosures is required by the PRIVACT ; agencies should consult with their senior agency official for privacy and legal counsel on this requirement and be aware of the statutory exceptions and OMB guidance relating to the provision.
Organizations can use any system for keeping notations of disclosures, if it can construct from such a system, a document listing of all disclosures along with the required information. Automated mechanisms can be used by organizations to determine when personally identifiable information is disclosed, including commercial services that provide notifications and alerts. Accounting of disclosures may also be used to help organizations verify compliance with applicable privacy statutes and policies governing the disclosure or dissemination of information and dissemination restrictions.
What to Check
How to Test
Step 1: Review Documentation
Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PM-21 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
