Solutions / NIST 800-53 Rev 5
NIST 800-53 Rev 5 controls, mapped to Microsoft 365 settings.
A NIST 800-53 assessment asks the same question 400 times: which tenant setting satisfies this control, and where is the evidence. Identra maintains a control-by-control map that answers both, delivered as a per-control evidence pack ready for the third-party assessor. Covers the AC (access control), AU (audit), IA (identification and authentication), SI (system integrity), MP (media protection), IR (incident response), and CM (configuration management) families across Entra, Defender, Purview and Sentinel.
- Framework
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5
- Baseline supported
- Low, Moderate, High
- License footprint
- M365 E3 or E5, GCC or GCC High for federal
- Delivery
- Fixed scope, fixed price
01 / What we configure
Four control families, hundreds of controls, one live map.
- 01
AC (Access Control) family
AC-2 account management via Entra Lifecycle Workflows. AC-3 access enforcement via Conditional Access. AC-6 least privilege via PIM and role-based access. AC-17 remote access via Entra Global Secure Access. Every AC control has a named tenant setting that satisfies it, evidenced by a Sentinel workbook or Purview export.
AC-2AC-3AC-6AC-17 - 02
AU (Audit and Accountability) family
AU-2 event logging scope defined at the tenant level. AU-6 audit review workflow assigned to the security operations lead. AU-9 audit log protection via Purview immutability. AU-11 audit record retention set to the baseline requirement (Moderate = 1 year online, High = 3 years).
AU-2AU-6AU-9AU-11 - 03
IA (Identification and Authentication) family
IA-2 identification and authentication of organisational users via Entra sign-in with MFA. IA-2(1) network access enhanced with FIDO2 or Windows Hello. IA-5 authenticator management via password protection, banned password list, and passkey policy. IA-8 identification of non-org users via B2B collaboration with restrictive Conditional Access.
IA-2IA-5IA-8FIDO2 - 04
SI, MP, IR and CM families
SI-4 system monitoring via Sentinel and Defender XDR. SI-7 software firmware and information integrity via Defender for Endpoint attack surface reduction. MP-6 media sanitisation via Purview retention and disposal policies. IR-4 incident handling via Sentinel automation rules. CM-6 configuration settings via the Microsoft 365 baseline.
SI-4SI-7IR-4CM-6
02 / What it looks like
Three engagements, same 800-53 workflow.
Different baselines, different assessment bodies, same control-by-control mapping method.
CISO at a StateRAMP-scoped government SaaS vendor
Situation. Preparing for StateRAMP Moderate assessment. Third-party assessor gap-analysis identified 40 controls without a named tenant setting or evidence source.
Outcome. Identra 800-53 map fills the 40 gaps with named settings and Sentinel-generated evidence. Assessor gap findings closed before the formal assessment window. StateRAMP authorisation achieved on the first attempt.
Compliance Lead at a defense subcontractor
Situation. Prime contractor flowed down NIST 800-171 (which maps to a subset of 800-53) as part of a DFARS 7012 clause. Subcontractor has M365 GCC but has never mapped its tenant configuration to controls.
Outcome. Identra delivered a 110-control 800-171 subset map with tenant evidence. Subcontractor now meets DFARS 7012 without moving to GCC High. Prime contractor accepted the evidence pack.
CIO at a research university
Situation. Research grants from DoE, NASA, and NIH require different assessment baselines (Moderate for most, High for some classified-adjacent work). Each grant office asked for a different evidence format.
Outcome. Single 800-53 map covers Moderate and High baselines. Per-grant evidence pack generated from the same underlying tenant data by filter, not by re-work. New grant onboarding drops from weeks to days.
03 / Frequently asked
What buyers ask first.
- What is NIST 800-53 Rev 5?
- Special Publication 800-53 Rev 5, published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in September 2020 and revised through 2023, is the catalog of security and privacy controls for federal information systems and any system that inherits federal baselines (FedRAMP, StateRAMP, CJIS, HIPAA control alignment, DoD IL). Rev 5 introduced privacy controls integrated with security controls, supply-chain risk management, and the PL, PM, PT control families.
- How does 800-53 relate to 800-171?
- NIST 800-171 is a derived control set (about 110 controls in Rev 3) specifically for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in non-federal systems. Every 800-171 control maps to a parent 800-53 control (or a specific enhancement). CMMC Level 2 requires meeting 800-171 controls. Identra map exports can be filtered to just the 800-171 subset for CMMC-scoped engagements.
- Is Microsoft 365 already assessed against 800-53?
- Microsoft 365 commercial cloud, GCC, and GCC High are assessed against FedRAMP baselines (which are derived from 800-53). Microsoft publishes the customer-responsibility matrix showing which controls Microsoft satisfies at the platform layer and which controls the customer must configure. Identra covers the customer-responsibility controls; the platform controls are inherited from Microsoft.
- What baseline should we target?
- FedRAMP Moderate is the most common target for commercial SaaS handling federal data. High is required for the most sensitive workloads (law enforcement CJI, high-impact FISMA systems). StateRAMP mirrors the FedRAMP baselines for state and local government. Choose the baseline based on the data classification you handle and the customer or regulator asking for the assessment.
- How long does a NIST 800-53 mapping engagement take?
- Moderate baseline typically 10 to 14 weeks, High baseline 14 to 20 weeks. Weeks 1 to 3 confirm the baseline, scope, and system boundary. Weeks 4 to 12 map controls to tenant settings and build the evidence generators. Weeks 13 to 20 (High only) cover the enhanced controls and the additional assessment prep. Deliverable is a live map, not a point-in-time report.
04 / Related
Where this fits.
Federal
FedRAMP and GCC High consulting
Government-cloud tenant configuration for federal and defense workloads.
Law enforcement
CJIS compliance
FBI CJIS Security Policy for law enforcement and state agency Microsoft 365 tenants.
Industry
Defense contractor CMMC
CMMC Level 2 on Microsoft 365 for DoD prime contractors and subcontractors.