pe-23-facility-location

name	PE-23_facility-location
description	Plan the location or site of the facility where the system resides considering physical and environmental hazards;
category	configuration
version	5.2.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["nist","sp800-53","rev5","pe-23","pe"]
tech_stack	["any"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	["CP-2","PE-18","PE-19","PM-8","PM-9","RA-3"]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{"CP-2":"Chain with CP-2 for comprehensive security coverage","PE-18":"Chain with PE-18 for comprehensive security coverage","PE-19":"Chain with PE-19 for comprehensive security coverage"}

PE-23 Facility Location

High-Level Description

Family: Physical and Environmental Protection (PE) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Physical and environmental hazards include floods, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, terrorism, vandalism, an electromagnetic pulse, electrical interference, and other forms of incoming electromagnetic radiation. The location of system components within the facility is addressed in PE-18.

What to Check

• Verify PE-23 Facility Location is documented in SSP
• Validate all 2 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for PE-23

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PE-23 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

Plan the location or site of the facility where the system resides considering physical and environmental hazards; and For existing facilities, consider the physical and environmental hazards in the organizational risk management strategy.

Implementation Guidance

Physical and environmental hazards include floods, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, terrorism, vandalism, an electromagnetic pulse, electrical interference, and other forms of incoming electromagnetic radiation. The location of system components within the facility is addressed in PE-18.

Risk Assessment