SC-28 Protection of Information at Rest
System and Communications Protection
Description
Protect the [Selection (one or more): confidentiality; integrity] of the following information at rest: [Assignment: organization-defined information at rest].
Supplemental Guidance
Information at rest refers to the state of information when it is not in process or in transit and is located on system components. Such components include internal or external hard disk drives, storage area network devices, or databases. However, the focus of protecting information at rest is not on the type of storage device or frequency of access but rather on the state of the information. Information at rest addresses the confidentiality and integrity of information and covers user information and system information. System-related information that requires protection includes configurations or rule sets for firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, filtering routers, and authentication information. Organizations may employ different mechanisms to achieve confidentiality and integrity protections, including the use of cryptographic mechanisms and file share scanning. Integrity protection can be achieved, for example, by implementing write-once-read-many (WORM) technologies. When adequate protection of information at rest cannot otherwise be achieved, organizations may employ other controls, including frequent scanning to identify malicious code at rest and secure offline storage in lieu of online storage.
Changes from Rev 4
No significant changes from Rev 4.
Enhancements (3)
What NIST adds to this control. Select one to read its statement.
SC-28(01) Cryptographic Protection ModerateHigh
Implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure and modification of the following information at rest on [Assignment: organization-defined system components or media]: [Assignment: organization-defined information].
SC-28(02) Offline Storage
Remove the following information from online storage and store offline in a secure location: [Assignment: organization-defined information].
SC-28(03) Cryptographic Keys
Provide protected storage for cryptographic keys [Selection (one): [Assignment: organization-defined safeguards]; hardware-protected key store].
Patterns that use this control (16)
Grouped by the emphasis each pattern gives it.
Critical (7)
- SP-015 Secure Remote Working
- SP-037 Privileged User Management
- SP-039 Client-Side Encryption and Data Privacy
- SP-050 Mobile Security Architecture (draft)
- SP-051 Tokenised Asset Security Architecture (draft)
- SP-053 Zero-Knowledge Proof Architecture (draft)
- SP-054 CBDC and Digital Currency Infrastructure (draft)
Important (8)
- SP-028 Secure DevOps Pipeline Pattern
- SP-029 Zero Trust Architecture
- SP-034 Cyber Resilience
- SP-040 Post-Quantum Cryptography and Quantum Readiness
- SP-042 Third Party Risk Management
- SP-047 Secure Agentic AI Frameworks
- SP-049 AI in Security Operations (draft)
- SP-052 Decentralised Identity & Verifiable Credentials (draft)
Standard (1)
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (42)
ATT&CK v16.1Techniques mitigated by this control, mapped via CTID.