RMF Control AT-3: Role-based training requires organizations to provide training and awareness to personnel on information security and the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), based on their roles and responsibilities. The training should include:
- Information security risks and their impact on organizational operations and assets.
- Procedures to protect CUI from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
- Employee roles and responsibilities in protecting CUI, based on their specific roles and responsibilities.
Supplemental Guidance
The Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a cybersecurity framework that provides a process for managing cybersecurity risk to systems and organizations. RMF Control AT-3: Role-based training is one of the controls in the AT family, which addresses awareness and training.
Role-based training is a type of training that is tailored to the specific needs of employees based on their roles and responsibilities. Role-based training is important for information security because it ensures that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to protect CUI from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
Benefits of Implementing RMF Control AT-3
There are a number of benefits to implementing RMF Control AT-3, including:
- Reduced cybersecurity risk: Role-based training can help to reduce cybersecurity risk by ensuring that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to protect CUI from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
- Improved CUI protection: Role-based training can help to improve the protection of CUI by helping employees to understand the risks to CUI and how to protect it based on their specific roles and responsibilities.
- Increased compliance: Many regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), require organizations to provide role-based training on information security topics to their employees.
How to Implement RMF Control AT-3
To implement RMF Control AT-3, organizations should:
- Identify the different roles and responsibilities of their employees.
- Develop role-based training programs for each role. The training programs should address the following topics:
- Information security risks and their impact on organizational operations and assets.
- Procedures to protect CUI from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
- Employee roles and responsibilities in protecting CUI, based on their specific roles and responsibilities.
- Deliver the role-based training programs to all employees. The training can be delivered through a variety of methods, such as online training, in-person training, or job aids.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the role-based training programs. This can be done through surveys, quizzes, or other assessments.
Examples of Role-Based Training Topics
Some examples of role-based training topics that organizations should cover include:
- System administrators: System administrators should be trained on how to secure systems and networks from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
- Database administrators: Database administrators should be trained on how to secure databases from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
- Network administrators: Network administrators should be trained on how to secure networks from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
- Application developers: Application developers should be trained on how to develop secure applications.
- Security analysts: Security analysts should be trained on how to identify, analyze, and respond to security incidents.
Conclusion
RMF Control AT-3: Role-based training is an important control that can help organizations to reduce cybersecurity risk and improve their CUI protection posture. By implementing RMF Control AT-3, organizations can ensure that their employees have the knowledge and skills they need to protect CUI from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
Additional Tips for Implementing RMF Control AT-3
- Use a variety of training methods: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to role-based training. Organizations should use a variety of training methods, such as online training, in-person training, and job aids, to meet the needs of their employees.
- Make training relevant: Role-based training should be relevant to the roles and responsibilities of the employees who are receiving it. For example, system administrators will need more in-depth training on security topics than employees who do not work in IT.
- Keep training up-to-date: The information security landscape is constantly changing, so it is important to keep role-based training up-to-date. Organizations should review their training materials on a regular basis and make updates as needed.
- Measure the effectiveness of training: Organizations should measure the effectiveness of their role-based training programs