si-17-fail-safe-procedures

name	SI-17_fail-safe-procedures
description	Implement the indicated fail-safe procedures when the indicated failures occur: [organization-defined].
category	input-validation
version	5.2.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["nist","sp800-53","rev5","si-17","si"]
tech_stack	["aws","azure","gcp","linux","windows"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-20"]
chains_with	["CP-12","CP-13","SC-24","SI-13"]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{"CP-12":"Chain with CP-12 for comprehensive security coverage","CP-13":"Chain with CP-13 for comprehensive security coverage","SC-24":"Chain with SC-24 for comprehensive security coverage"}

SI-17 Fail-safe Procedures

High-Level Description

Family: System and Information Integrity (SI) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Failure conditions include the loss of communications among critical system components or between system components and operational facilities. Fail-safe procedures include alerting operator personnel and providing specific instructions on subsequent steps to take. Subsequent steps may include doing nothing, reestablishing system settings, shutting down processes, restarting the system, or contacting designated organizational personnel.

What to Check

• Verify SI-17 Fail-safe Procedures is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for SI-17

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for SI-17 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
cloud-audit-mcp	Check integrity monitoring	cloud_audit_monitoring
AWS CLI	Review GuardDuty/Inspector	aws guardduty list-detectors

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Implement the indicated fail-safe procedures when the indicated failures occur: [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Failure conditions include the loss of communications among critical system components or between system components and operational facilities. Fail-safe procedures include alerting operator personnel and providing specific instructions on subsequent steps to take. Subsequent steps may include doing nothing, reestablishing system settings, shutting down processes, restarting the system, or contacting designated organizational personnel.