What is NIST 800-171 Control 3.12.3?
Control 3.12.3 ensures that the security controls your organization relies on are monitored and validated continuously—not just during an annual audit or risk assessment. This includes:
• Technical controls (e.g., firewall rules, MFA, encryption)
• Administrative controls (e.g., training, policies)
• Physical controls (e.g., badge systems, locks)
Ongoing monitoring helps identify drift, misconfigurations, and control failures before they lead to security incidents.
Why It Matters
Security controls degrade over time due to:
• System updates or changes
• Staff turnover
• New threats or attack methods
• Configuration drift
Without ongoing monitoring, your controls may stop working—and you may not know it until it’s too late.
How to Implement It
• Integrate continuous monitoring tools (e.g., SIEM, endpoint detection, cloud posture monitoring)
• Assign control owners to regularly review and validate each control’s performance
• Set alert thresholds for control failure or drift
• Conduct spot checks on key controls (e.g., password policies, access rights)
• Tie monitoring efforts into your risk and POA&M management processes
Common Mistakes
• Confusing monitoring with one-time assessments
• Not assigning responsibility for ongoing review
• Failing to act on alerts or logged control failures
How Cuick Trac Helps
Cuick Trac enables continuous control monitoring by:
• Providing dashboards and status tracking for NIST and CMMC-aligned controls
• Logging and alerting on key control activities (e.g., access changes, failed logins)
• Helping teams maintain real-time visibility into compliance posture
• Offering advisory support to calibrate monitoring based on your environment
With Cuick Trac, monitoring isn’t an afterthought—it’s a built-in security discipline.
Final CTA
If your controls aren’t monitored, they might as well not exist.
Schedule a Cuick Trac demo and keep your security controls performing at their best—all year round.