Navigate

SI-13

SI-13: Predictable Failure Prevention

a: Determine mean time to failure (MTTF) for the following system components in specific environments of operation: [system components for which mean time to failure (MTTF) should be determined are defined;] ; and

b: Provide substitute system components and a means to exchange active and standby components in accordance with the following criteria: [mean time to failure (MTTF) substitution criteria to be used as a means to exchange active and standby components are defined;].

Supplemental

While MTTF is primarily a reliability issue, predictable failure prevention is intended to address potential failures of system components that provide security capabilities. Failure rates reflect installation-specific consideration rather than the industry-average. Organizations define the criteria for the substitution of system components based on the MTTF value with consideration for the potential harm from component failures. The transfer of responsibilities between active and standby components does not compromise safety, operational readiness, or security capabilities. The preservation of system state variables is also critical to help ensure a successful transfer process. Standby components remain available at all times except for maintenance issues or recovery failures in progress.

CIA Levels
Confidentiality	unknown
Integrity	unknown
Availability	unknown

Overlays
DAF Baseline

CSF Categories
None

Related Controls

The controls below (if any) were marked by NIST as being related to SI-13.

Control	Description
CP-2	a: Develop a contingency plan for the system that: 1: Identifies essential mission and business functions and associated contingency requirements; 2: Provides recovery objectives, restoration priorities, and metrics; 3: Addresses contingency roles, responsibilities, assigned individuals with contact information; 4: Addresses maintaining essential mission and business functions despite a system disruption, compromise, or failure; 5: Addresses eventual, full system restoration without deterioration of the controls originally planned and implemented; 6: Addresses the sharing of contingency information; and 7: Is reviewed and approved by [one of ]; b: Distribute copies of the contingency plan to [one of ]; c: Coordinate contingency planning activities with incident handling activities; d: Review the contingency plan for the system [frequency of contingency plan review is defined;]; e: Update the contingency plan to address changes to the organization, system, or environment of operation and problems encountered during contingency plan implementation, execution, or testing; f: Communicate contingency plan changes to [one of ]; g: Incorporate lessons learned from contingency plan testing, training, or actual contingency activities into contingency testing and training; and h: Protect the contingency plan from unauthorized disclosure and modification.
CP-10	Provide for the recovery and reconstitution of the system to a known state within [one of ] after a disruption, compromise, or failure.
CP-13	Employ [alternative or supplemental security mechanisms are defined;] for satisfying [security functions are defined;] when the primary means of implementing the security function is unavailable or compromised.
MA-2	a: Schedule, document, and review records of maintenance, repair, and replacement on system components in accordance with manufacturer or vendor specifications and/or organizational requirements; b: Approve and monitor all maintenance activities, whether performed on site or remotely and whether the system or system components are serviced on site or removed to another location; c: Require that [personnel or roles required to explicitly approve the removal of the system or system components from organizational facilities for off-site maintenance or repairs is/are defined;] explicitly approve the removal of the system or system components from organizational facilities for off-site maintenance, repair, or replacement; d: Sanitize equipment to remove the following information from associated media prior to removal from organizational facilities for off-site maintenance, repair, or replacement: [information to be removed from associated media prior to removal from organizational facilities for off-site maintenance, repair, or replacement is defined;]; e: Check all potentially impacted controls to verify that the controls are still functioning properly following maintenance, repair, or replacement actions; and f: Include the following information in organizational maintenance records: [information to be included in organizational maintenance records is defined;].
MA-6	Obtain maintenance support and/or spare parts for [system components for which maintenance support and/or spare parts are obtained are defined;] within [time period within which maintenance support and/or spare parts are to be obtained after a failure are defined;] of failure.
SA-8	Apply the following systems security and privacy engineering principles in the specification, design, development, implementation, and modification of the system and system components: [one of ].
SC-6	Protect the availability of resources by allocating [resources to be allocated to protect the availability of resources are defined;] by [one or more of "priority"/"quota"/"{{ insert: param, sc-06_odp.03 }} "].

Enhancements

The controls below (if any) add on to the requirements of SI-13.

Control	Description
SI-13(1)	Take system components out of service by transferring component responsibilities to substitute components no later than [the fraction or percentage of mean time to failure within which to transfer the responsibilities of a system component to a substitute component is defined;] of mean time to failure.
SI-13(2)
SI-13(3)	Manually initiate transfers between active and standby system components when the use of the active component reaches [the percentage of the mean time to failure for transfers to be manually initiated is defined;] of the mean time to failure.
SI-13(4)	If system component failures are detected: (a): Ensure that the standby components are successfully and transparently installed within [time period for standby components to be installed is defined;] ; and (b): [one or more of "activate {{ insert: param, si-13.04_odp.03 }} "/"automatically shut down the system"/"{{ insert: param, si-13.04_odp.04 }} "].
SI-13(5)	Provide [one of "real-time"/"near real-time"] [a failover capability for the system has been defined;] for the system.

Related CCIs

The CCIs below are tied to SI-13.

CCI	Definition
CCI-001318	Provide substitute system components.
CCI-002760	Determines mean time to failure (MTTF) for organization-defined system components in specific environments of operation.
CCI-002761	Defines the system components in specific environments of operation for which the mean time to failure (MTTF) is to be determined.
CCI-002762	Defines the mean time to failure (MTTF) substitution criteria to be employed as a means to determine the need to exchange active and standby components.
CCI-002763	Provide a means to exchange active and standby components in accordance with the organization-defined mean time to failure (MTTF) substitution criteria.