Cyber Risk Assessment - NIST 800-53 Assessment
NOXMON assesses your security and privacy controls against NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 within the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF). We don't just record control gaps—we quantify each one as financial exposure in RISKMON, our proprietary cyber risk quantification platform, and keep monitoring your posture 24x7 to sustain your authorization.
Control Assessment Built for the RMF
NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 defines the catalog of security and privacy controls that federal agencies, their contractors, and FedRAMP cloud service providers must implement and assess. NOXMON's analysts evaluate your environment against the right baseline, validate control implementation, and document results in a format your authorizing official and assessors expect.
Our assessment is designed to move you through the RMF—categorizing systems, selecting and tailoring controls, assessing effectiveness, and supporting the authorization decision. Because NIST 800-53 underpins FedRAMP, the same evidence supports both agency authorizations and cloud marketplace pursuits.
Throughout, RISKMON models each control deficiency as quantified financial exposure so your remediation budget is directed at the gaps that carry the greatest risk—not simply the longest list of findings.
Control Baselines
NIST 800-53 baselines are selected based on the impact level of the information system under FIPS 199. NOXMON assesses against the appropriate baseline and tailors controls to your operational context.
Low Baseline
For systems where a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability would have a limited adverse effect on operations, assets, or individuals.
- Foundational Controls. A focused set of safeguards covering essential security and privacy hygiene.
- Limited Impact. Appropriate for low-criticality systems and supporting infrastructure.
- Efficient Path. A pragmatic starting point that scales as system criticality grows.
Moderate Baseline
For systems where a loss would have a serious adverse effect—the most common baseline for federal systems and FedRAMP authorizations.
- Expanded Coverage. Significantly more controls across all 20 control families.
- FedRAMP Aligned. The default starting baseline for most cloud service offerings.
- Enhanced Assurance. Stronger access, audit, and monitoring requirements.
High Baseline
For systems where a loss would have a severe or catastrophic adverse effect, including mission-critical and high-value assets.
- Comprehensive Controls. The most rigorous set of safeguards and control enhancements.
- Critical Systems. For national security, life-safety, and high-value information systems.
- Defense in Depth. Layered protections with elevated monitoring and resilience.
Selected Control Families
NIST 800-53 Rev 5 organizes its catalog into 20 control families spanning security and privacy. Our assessment covers each family relevant to your scope; the following are frequently the focus of authorization decisions.
- Access Control (AC). Account management, least privilege, and remote access enforcement
- Audit and Accountability (AU). Event logging, audit record retention, and accountability
- Configuration Management (CM). Baseline configurations, change control, and component inventory
- Contingency Planning (CP). System backup, recovery, and continuity of operations
- Identification and Authentication (IA). Multifactor authentication and identity proofing
- Incident Response (IR). Detection, handling, reporting, and response capabilities
- Risk Assessment (RA). Risk assessments, vulnerability scanning, and risk response
- System and Communications Protection (SC). Boundary protection, cryptography, and network security
- System and Information Integrity (SI). Flaw remediation, malicious code protection, and monitoring
- Privacy Controls (PT, PM). Personally identifiable information processing and program management
ATO & Continuous Monitoring
Authorization to Operate (ATO)
The ATO is the formal management decision by an authorizing official to accept the risk of operating a system. Reaching it requires a defensible body of evidence—a system security plan, assessment results, and a plan of action and milestones (POA&M) for any open items.
- Assessment Package. Control assessment results assembled into an authorization-ready package
- POA&M Management. Open findings tracked with owners, milestones, and remediation timelines
- Risk-Based Decision. Residual risk expressed clearly so the authorizing official can decide with confidence
Continuous Monitoring (ConMon)
An ATO is not the finish line. NIST 800-53 and FedRAMP require ongoing assessment of control effectiveness so the authorization remains valid as the system and threat landscape evolve.
- Ongoing Assessment. Continuous evaluation of control effectiveness rather than point-in-time snapshots
- Real-Time Posture. RISKMON monitors your environment 24x7 and surfaces drift as it happens
- Sustained Authorization. Evidence kept current so reauthorization is a continuation, not a restart
How RISKMON Quantifies Control Gaps
Traditional NIST 800-53 assessments produce a long list of control gaps with little guidance on which to fix first. RISKMON changes that by applying FAIR-based modeling to translate each control deficiency into quantified financial exposure—so remediation dollars flow to the gaps that actually reduce risk.
Because RISKMON maps a single set of control evidence across overlapping frameworks, the work you do for a NIST 800-53 authorization also feeds FedRAMP, NIST CSF, and other obligations—eliminating duplicated assessment effort. Findings, POA&M items, and remediation are tracked to closure, and executive and board dashboards keep stakeholders informed.
The same platform that produces your assessment keeps monitoring your posture 24x7 afterward. NOXMON itself uses RISKMON to monitor its own clients, supporting continuous monitoring requirements with current, defensible evidence.
Assessment Deliverables
- Security Assessment Report. Detailed control-by-control assessment findings against the selected baseline
- System Security Plan Support. Documentation aligned to RMF expectations and assessor requirements
- Quantified Risk Register. Each gap modeled in RISKMON as financial exposure and risk-ranked
- POA&M & Remediation Roadmap. Prioritized plan of action and milestones with owners and timelines
- ATO Readiness Package. Authorization-ready evidence to support the authorizing official's decision
- Continuous Monitoring Program. 24x7 monitoring and reassessment to sustain your authorization
"We were pursuing a FedRAMP Moderate authorization and drowning in 800-53 findings. NOXMON quantified each gap in RISKMON so we could see what actually moved the needle, and the continuous monitoring kept our evidence current straight through the ATO."
Related Insights
NIST 800-53 RMF Implementation
Working through the Risk Management Framework step by step.
Control Baselines & Tailoring
Selecting Low, Moderate, or High and tailoring to your context.
Authorization to Operate (ATO)
Building a defensible authorization package and decision.
Continuous Monitoring (ConMon)
Sustaining authorization with ongoing assessment.
Tell us about your project
Our offices
- Houghton
Houghton, MI 49931
(212) 913-9184
info@noxmon.com - New York City
New York, NY 10011
(212) 913-9184
info@noxmon.com