SC-12(6)_physical-control-of-keys

DevOps & Security

Maintain physical control of cryptographic keys when stored information is encrypted by external service providers.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/CyberStrikeus/CyberStrike/blob/HEAD/.cyberstrike/skill/NIST/SP800-53_rev5/SC_system-and-communications-protection/SC-12(6)_physical-control-of-keys/SKILL.md

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SC-12(6) Physical Control of Keys

Enhancement of: SC-12

High-Level Description

Family: System and Communications Protection (SC) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

For organizations that use external service providers (e.g., cloud service or data center providers), physical control of cryptographic keys provides additional assurance that information stored by such external providers is not subject to unauthorized disclosure or modification.

What to Check

Verify SC-12(6) Physical Control of Keys is documented in SSP
Confirm control is operating effectively
Review evidence of continuous monitoring for SC-12(6)
Verify enhancement builds upon base control SC-12

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for SC-12(6) 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 encryption and network controls	`cloud_audit_encryption`
nmap	Network scanning	`nmap -sV --script ssl-enum-ciphers`

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Maintain physical control of cryptographic keys when stored information is encrypted by external service providers.

Implementation Guidance

Risk Assessment

Finding	Severity	Impact
SC-12(6) Physical Control of Keys not implemented	High	System and Communications Protection
SC-12(6) partially implemented	Medium	Incomplete System and Communications Protection

CWE Categories

CWE ID	Title
CWE-311	Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data

References

Checklist

Control documented in SSP
Implementation evidence collected
Operating effectiveness validated
Continuous monitoring in place
Related controls (none) reviewed