SA-4 (02)—Acquisition Process | Design and Implementation Information for Controls
>Control Description
>FedRAMP Baseline Requirements
No FedRAMP-specific parameter values or requirements for this baseline.
>Discussion
Organizations may require different levels of detail in the documentation for the design and implementation of controls in organizational systems, system components, or system services based on mission and business requirements, requirements for resiliency and trustworthiness, and requirements for analysis and testing. Systems can be partitioned into multiple subsystems. Each subsystem within the system can contain one or more modules.
The high-level design for the system is expressed in terms of subsystems and the interfaces between subsystems providing security-relevant functionality. The low-level design for the system is expressed in terms of modules and the interfaces between modules providing security-relevant functionality. Design and implementation documentation can include manufacturer, version, serial number, verification hash signature, software libraries used, date of purchase or download, and the vendor or download source.
Source code and hardware schematics are referred to as the implementation representation of the system.
>Assessment Interview Topics
Questions assessors commonly ask
Process & Governance:
- •What acquisition policies and procedures address the requirements of SA-4(2)?
- •How are security and privacy requirements integrated into the acquisition process?
- •Who is responsible for ensuring that acquisitions comply with SA-4(2)?
- •How do you assess and monitor the security posture of suppliers and vendors?
Technical Implementation:
- •How are security requirements defined and documented in acquisition contracts?
- •What mechanisms ensure that acquired systems and services meet security requirements?
- •How do you validate that vendors and service providers comply with specified security controls?
- •What secure coding practices and standards are required for developers?
Evidence & Documentation:
- •Can you provide examples of acquisition documentation that includes security requirements?
- •What evidence demonstrates that acquired systems meet security specifications?
- •Where is acquisition security documentation maintained throughout the system lifecycle?
- •Can you provide code review or static analysis results?
- •Can you provide vendor security assessment reports?
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