| name | PL-8(1)_defense-in-depth |
| description | Design the security and privacy architectures for the system using a defense-in-depth approach that: Allocates [organization-defined] to [organization |
| category | configuration |
| version | 5.2.0 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["nist","sp800-53","rev5","pl-8-1","pl","enhancement"] |
| tech_stack | ["any"] |
| cwe_ids | [] |
| chains_with | ["SC-2","SC-3","SC-29","SC-36"] |
| prerequisites | ["PL-8"] |
| severity_boost | {"SC-2":"Chain with SC-2 for comprehensive security coverage","SC-3":"Chain with SC-3 for comprehensive security coverage","SC-29":"Chain with SC-29 for comprehensive security coverage"} |
PL-8(1) Defense in Depth
Enhancement of: PL-8
High-Level Description
Family: Planning (PL)
Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5
Organizations strategically allocate security and privacy controls in the security and privacy architectures so that adversaries must overcome multiple controls to achieve their objective. Requiring adversaries to defeat multiple controls makes it more difficult to attack information resources by increasing the work factor of the adversary; it also increases the likelihood of detection. The coordination of allocated controls is essential to ensure that an attack that involves one control does not create adverse, unintended consequences by interfering with other controls. Unintended consequences can include system lockout and cascading alarms. The placement of controls in systems and organizations is an important activity that requires thoughtful analysis. The value of organizational assets is an important consideration in providing additional layering. Defense-in-depth architectural approaches include modularity and layering (see SA-8(3) ), separation of system and user functionality (see SC-2 ), and security function isolation (see SC-3).
What to Check
How to Test
Step 1: Review Documentation
Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for PL-8(1) 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
