HHS-HRSA_Security_and_Privacy_Language_for_IT_Acquisitions_-_Baseline-CO....docx

Baseline Security Requirements

1) Applicability. The requirements herein apply whether the entire contract or order (hereafter “contract”), or portion thereof, includes either or both of the following:

a. Access (Physical or Logical) to Government Information: A Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employee will have or will be given the ability to have, routine physical (entry) or logical (electronic) access to government information.

b. Operate a Federal System Containing Information: A Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) will operate a federal system and information technology containing data that supports the HHS mission. In addition to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 2.1 definition of “information technology” (IT), the term as used in this section includes computers, ancillary equipment (including imaging peripherals, input, output, and storage devices necessary for security and surveillance), peripheral equipment designed to be controlled by the central processing unit of a computer, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources.

2) Safeguarding Information and Information Systems. In accordance with the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS)199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall:

a. Protect government information and information systems in order to ensure:

· Confidentiality, which means preserving authorized restrictions on access and disclosure, based on the security terms found in this contract, including means for protecting personal privacy and proprietary information;

· Integrity, which means guarding against improper information modification or destruction, and ensuring information non-repudiation and authenticity; and

· Availability, which means ensuring timely and reliable access to and use of information.

b. Provide security for any Contractor systems, and information contained therein, connected to an HHS network or operated by the Contractor on behalf of HHS regardless of location per FAR clause 52.239-1, Privacy or Security Safeguards. In addition, if new or unanticipated threats or hazards are discovered by either the agency or contractor, or if existing safeguards have ceased to function, the discoverer shall immediately, within one (1) hour or less, bring the situation to the attention of the other party.

c. Adopt and implement the policies, procedures, controls, and standards required by the HHS Information Security Program to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of government information and government information systems for which the Contractor is responsible under this contract or to which the Contractor may otherwise have access under this contract. Obtain the HHS Information Security Program security requirements, outlined in the HHS Information Security and Privacy Policy (IS2P), by contacting the CO/COR or emailing fisma@hhs.gov.

d. Comply with the Privacy Act requirements and tailor FAR clauses as needed.

3) Information Security Categorization. In accordance with FIPS 199 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-60, Volume II: Appendices to Guide for Mapping Types of Information and Information Systems to Security Categories, Appendix C, and based on information provided by the ISSO, CISO, or other security representative, the risk level for each Security Objective and the Overall Risk Level, which is the highest watermark of the three factors (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability) of the information or information system are the following:

Based on information provided by the ISSO, Privacy Office, system/data owner, or other security or privacy representative, it has been determined that this solicitation/contract involves:

[ ] No PII [ ] Yes PII

Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Per the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “PII is information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.” Examples of PII include, but are not limited to the following: social security number, date and place of birth, mother‘s maiden name, biometric records, etc.

PII Confidentiality Impact Level has been determined to be: [ ] Low [ ] Moderate [ ] High

4) Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). CUI is defined as “information that laws, regulations, or Government-wide policies require to have safeguarding or dissemination controls, excluding classified information.” The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must comply with Executive Order 13556, Controlled Unclassified Information, (implemented at 3 CFR, part 2002) when handling CUI. 32 C.F.R. 2002.4(aa) As implemented the term “handling” refers to “…any use of CUI, including but not limited to marking, safeguarding, transporting, disseminating, re-using, and disposing of the information.” 81 Fed. Reg. 63323. All sensitive information that has been identified as CUI by a regulation or statute, handled by this solicitation/contract, shall be:

a. marked appropriately;

b. disclosed to authorized personnel on a Need-To-Know basis;

c. protected in accordance with NIST SP 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations applicable baseline if handled by a Contractor system operated on behalf of the agency, or NIST SP 800-171, Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations if handled by internal Contractor system; and

d. returned to HHS control, destroyed when no longer needed, or held until otherwise directed. Destruction of information and/or data shall be accomplished in accordance with NIST SP 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization.

5) Protection of Sensitive Information. For security purposes, information is or may be sensitive because it requires security to protect its confidentiality, integrity, and/or availability. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall protect all government information that is or may be sensitive in accordance with OMB Memorandum M-06-16, Protection of Sensitive Agency Information by securing it with a FIPS 140-2 validated solution.

6) Confidentiality and Nondisclosure of Information. Any information provided to the contractor (and/or any subcontractor) by HHS or collected by the contractor on behalf of HHS shall be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this contract and shall not be disclosed or made known in any manner to any persons except as may be necessary in the performance of the contract. The Contractor assumes responsibility for protection of the confidentiality of Government records and shall ensure that all work performed by its employees and subcontractors shall be under the supervision of the Contractor. Each Contractor officer or employee or any of its subcontractors to whom any HHS records may be made available or disclosed shall be notified in writing by the Contractor that information disclosed to such officer or employee can be used only for that purpose and to the extent authorized herein.

The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of such information shall be protected in accordance with HHS and HRSA policies. Unauthorized disclosure of information will be subject to the HHS/HRSA sanction policies and/or governed by the following laws and regulations:

a. 18 U.S.C. 641 (Criminal Code: Public Money, Property or Records);

b. 18 U.S.C. 1905 (Criminal Code: Disclosure of Confidential Information); and

c. 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, Subchapter I (Paperwork Reduction Act).

7) Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). All acquisitions using Internet Protocol shall comply with FAR sections: FAR 7.105(b)(5), FAR 11.002(g), and FAR 12.202(e).

8) Government Websites. All new and existing public-facing government websites must be securely configured with Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) using the most recent version of Transport Layer Security (TLS). In addition, HTTPS shall enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to instruct compliant browsers to assume HTTPS at all times to reduce the number of insecure redirects and protect against attacks that attempt to downgrade connections to plain HTTP. For internal-facing websites, the HTTPS is not required, but it is highly recommended.

9) Contract Documentation. The Contractor shall use HRSA-provided templates, policies, forms and other documents to comply with contract deliverables as appropriate.

10) Standard for Encryption. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall:

a. Comply with the HHS Standard for Encryption of Computing Devices and Information to prevent unauthorized access to government information.

b. Encrypt all sensitive federal data and information (i.e., PII, protected health information [PHI], proprietary information, etc.) in transit (i.e., email, network connections, etc.) and at rest (i.e., servers, storage devices, mobile devices, backup media, etc.) with FIPS 140-2 validated encryption solution.

c. Secure all devices (i.e.: desktops, laptops, mobile devices, etc.) that store and process government information and ensure devices meet HHS and HRSA-specific encryption standard requirements. Maintain a complete and current inventory of all laptop computers, desktop computers, and other mobile devices and portable media that store or process sensitive government information (including PII).

d. Verify that the encryption solutions in use have been validated under the Cryptographic Module Validation Program to confirm compliance with FIPS 140-2. The Contractor shall provide a written copy of the validation documentation to the COR prior to the EPLC Design Readiness Review (DRR).

e. Use the Key Management system on the HHS personal identification verification (PIV) card or establish and use a key recovery mechanism to ensure the ability for authorized personnel to encrypt/decrypt information and recover encryption keys. Encryption keys shall be provided to the COR upon request and at the conclusion of the contract.

11) Contractor Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Each Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employee having access to non-public government information under this contract shall complete the HRSA non-disclosure agreement, as applicable. A copy of each signed and witnessed NDA shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer (CO) and/or CO Representative (COR) prior to performing any work under this acquisition.

12) Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA)/Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) – The Contractor shall assist the HRSA Senior Official for Privacy (SOP) or designee with conducting a PTA for the information system and/or information handled under this contract to determine whether or not a full PIA needs to be completed.

a. If the results of the PTA show that a full PIA is needed, the Contractor shall assist the HRSA SOP or designee with completing a PIA for the system or information within 60 days after completion of the PTA and in accordance with HHS policy and OMB M-03-22, Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002.

b. The Contractor shall assist the HRSA SOP or designee in reviewing the PIA at least every three years throughout the system development lifecycle (SDLC)/information lifecycle, or when determined by the agency that a review is required based on a major change to the system, or when new types of PII are collected that introduces new or increased privacy risks, whichever comes first.

Training

1) Mandatory Training for All Contractor Staff. All Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employees assigned to work on this contract shall complete the applicable HHS/HRSA Information Security Awareness, Privacy, and Records Management training (provided upon contract award) before performing any work under this contract. Thereafter, the employees shall complete HHS/HRSA Information Security Awareness, Privacy, and Records Management training at least annually, during the life of this contract. All provided training shall be compliant with HHS training policies.

2) Role-based Training. All Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employees with significant security responsibilities (as determined by the program manager) must complete role-based training annually commensurate with their role and responsibilities in accordance with HHS policy and the HHS Role-Based Training (RBT) of Personnel with Significant Security Responsibilities Memorandum.

3) Training Records. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall maintain training records for all its employees working under this contract in accordance with HHS policy. The training records shall be provided to the CO and/or COR within 30 days after contract award and annually thereafter or upon request.

Rules of Behavior

1) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure that all employees performing on the contract comply with the HHS Information Technology General Rules of Behavior, the HRSA Information Technology Rules of Behavior (included in the HRSA Information Security and Privacy Awareness Training), and any applicable system-level rules of behavior.

2) All Contractor employees performing on the contract must read and adhere to the Rules of Behavior before accessing Department data or other information, systems, and/or networks that store/process government information, initially at the beginning of the contract and at least annually thereafter, which may be done as part of annual HRSA Information Security Awareness Training. If the training is provided by the contractor, the signed ROB must be provided as a separate deliverable.

Incident Response FISMA defines an incident as “an occurrence that (1) actually or imminently jeopardizes, without lawful authority, the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of information or an information system; or (2) constitutes a violation or imminent threat of violation of law, security policies, security procedures, or acceptable use policies.. The HHS Policy for IT Security and Privacy Incident Reporting and Response further defines incidents as events involving cybersecurity and privacy threats, such as viruses, malicious user activity, loss of, unauthorized disclosure or destruction of data, and so on.

A privacy breach is a type of incident and is defined by Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) as the loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, or any similar occurrence where (1) a person other than an authorized user accesses or potentially accesses personally identifiable information or (2) an authorized user accesses or potentially accesses personally identifiable information for an other than authorized purpose. The HHS Policy for IT Security and Privacy Incident Reporting and Response further defines a breach as “a suspected or confirmed incident involving PII” .

In the event of a suspected or confirmed incident or breach, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor), the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall:

1) Protect all sensitive information, including any PII created, stored, or transmitted in the performance of this contract so as to avoid a secondary sensitive information incident with FIPS 140-2 validated encryption.

2) NOT notify affected individuals unless so instructed by the Contracting Officer or designated representative. If so instructed by the Contracting Officer or representative, the Contractor shall send notifications to affected individuals following specific instructions from the HHS Privacy Incident Response Team (PIRT).

3) Report all suspected and confirmed information security and privacy incidents and breaches to the HRSA Security Operations Center (SOC), COR, CO, HRSA SOP (or his or her designee), and other stakeholders, including incidents involving PII, in any medium or form, including paper, oral, or electronic, as soon as possible and without unreasonable delay, no later than one (1) hour, and consistent with the applicable HRSA and HHS policy and procedures, NIST standards and guidelines, as well as US-CERT notification guidelines. The types of information required in an incident report must include at a minimum: company and point of contact information, contract information, impact classifications/threat vector, and the type of information compromised. In addition, the Contractor shall:

a. cooperate and exchange any information, as determined by the Agency, necessary to effectively manage or mitigate a suspected or confirmed breach;

b. not include any sensitive information in the subject or body of any reporting e-mail; and

c. encrypt sensitive information in attachments to email, media, etc.

4) Comply with OMB M-17-12, Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable Information, HHS, and HRSA incident response policies when handling PII breaches.

5) Provide full access and cooperate on all activities as determined by the Government to ensure an effective incident response, including providing all requested images, log files, and event information to facilitate rapid resolution of sensitive information incidents. This may involve disconnecting the system processing, storing, or transmitting the sensitive information from the Internet or other networks or applying additional security controls.

Position Sensitivity Designations All Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) employees must obtain a background investigation commensurate with their position sensitivity designation that complies with Parts 1400 and 731 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The following position sensitivity designation levels apply to this solicitation/contract:

The requiring activity representative, in conjunction with Personnel Security, shall use the OPM Position Sensitivity Designation automated tool (https://www.opm.gov/investigations/) to determine the sensitivity designation for background investigations. After making those determinations, include all applicable position sensitivity designations.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) and its employees shall comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12, Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; OMB M-05-24; FIPS 201, Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors; HHS HSPD-12 policy; and Executive Order 13467, Part 1 §1.2.

Roster. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall submit a roster by name, position, e-mail address, phone number and responsibility, of all staff working under this acquisition where the Contractor will develop, have the ability to access, or host and/or maintain a government information system(s). The roster shall be submitted to the COR, with a copy to the Contracting Officer, within 14 days of the effective date of this contract. Any revisions to the roster as a result of staffing changes shall be submitted within 14 days of the change. The COR will notify the Contractor of the appropriate level of investigation required for each staff member.

If the employee is filling a new position, the Contractor shall provide a position description and the Government will determine the appropriate suitability level.

Contract Initiation and Expiration

1) General Security Requirements. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall comply with information security and privacy requirements, Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) processes, HHS Enterprise Architecture requirements to ensure information is appropriately protected from initiation to expiration of the contract. All information systems development or enhancement tasks supported by the contractor shall follow the HRSA EPLC framework and methodology (https://sharepoint.hrsa.gov/oo/oit/dcppm/pmo/Shared Documents/z_Old PMO Archives/Documents.aspx) and in accordance with the HHS Contract Closeout Guide (2012).

2) System Documentation. Contractors (and/or any subcontractors) must follow and adhere to NIST SP 800-64, Security Considerations in the System Development Life Cycle, at a minimum, for system development and provide system documentation at designated intervals (specifically, at the expiration of the contract) within the EPLC that require artifact review and approval.

3) Sanitization of Government Files and Information. As part of contract closeout and at expiration of the contract, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall provide all required documentation to the CO and/or COR to certify that, at the government’s direction, all electronic and paper records are appropriately disposed of and all devices and media are sanitized in accordance with NIST SP 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization.

4) Notification. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall notify the CO and/or COR and system ISSO within two weeks before an employee stops working under this contract.

5) Contractor Responsibilities Upon Physical Completion of the Contract. The contractor (and/or any subcontractors) shall return all government information and IT resources (i.e., government information in non-government-owned systems, media, and backup systems) acquired during the term of this contract to the CO and/or COR. Additionally, the Contractor shall provide a certification that all government information has been properly sanitized and purged from Contractor-owned systems, including backup systems and media used during contract performance, in accordance with HHS and/or HRSA policies.

6) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall perform and document the actions identified in the HRSA Clearance Form for Separating Employees and Contractors (Form-419) when an employee terminates work under this contract within two weeks days of the employee’s exit from the contract. All documentation shall be made available to the CO and/or COR upon request.

Acquisitions Involving Government information Processed on GOCO or COCO Systems

1) Federal Policies. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall comply with applicable federal laws that include, but are not limited to, the HHS Information Security and Privacy Policy (IS2P), Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014, (44 U.S.C. 101); National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource; and other applicable federal laws, regulations, NIST guidance, and Departmental policies.

2) Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A). A valid authority to operate (ATO) certifies that the Contractor’s information system meets the contract’s requirements to protect the agency data. If the system under this contract does not have a valid ATO, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall work with the agency and supply the deliverables required to complete the ATO 30 days prior to the EPLC Operational Readiness Review (ORR). The Contractor shall conduct the SA&A requirements in accordance with HHS IS2P, NIST SP 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach (latest revision).

HRSA’s acceptance of the ATO does not alleviate the Contractor’s responsibility to ensure the system security and privacy controls are implemented and operating effectively.

a. SA&A Package Deliverables - The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall provide an SA&A package within 30 days prior to the ORR to the CO and/or COR. The following SA&A deliverables are required to complete the SA&A package:

· System Security Plan (SSP) – Initial draft version due within 30 days of the EPLC Performance Baseline Review. Final draft due 120 days prior to the Operational Readiness Review. Final version due 30 days prior to the Operational Readiness Review.

The SSP shall comply with the NIST SP 800-18, Guide for Developing Security Plans for Federal Information Systems, the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 200, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems, and NIST SP 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations applicable baseline requirements, and other applicable NIST guidance as well as HHS and HRSA policies and other guidance. The SSP shall be consistent with and detail the approach to IT security contained in the Contractor’s bid or proposal that resulted in the award of this contract. The SSP shall provide an overview of the system environment and security requirements to protect the information system as well as describe all applicable security controls in place or planned for meeting those requirements. It should provide a structured process for planning adequate, cost-effective security protection for a system. The Contractor shall update the SSP at least annually thereafter.

· Security Assessment Plan/Report (SAP/SAR) – due 30 days prior to the Operational Readiness Review. The security assessment shall be conducted by HRSA’s Security Assessment Team and be consistent with NIST SP 800-53A, NIST SP 800-30, latest revisions, and HHS and HRSA policies. The assessor will document the assessment results in the SAR.

Thereafter, the Contractor, in coordination with HRSA shall assist in the assessment of the security controls annually and update the SAR at least annually.

· POA&M – due within 7 days after the Security Control Assessment Report is delivered. The POA&M shall be documented consistent with the HHS Standard for Plan of Action and Milestones and HRSA policies. All high-risk weaknesses must be mitigated within 30 days and all moderate weaknesses must be mitigated within 180 days from the date weaknesses are formally identified. and documented. HRSA will determine the risk rating of vulnerabilities.

Identified risks stemming from deficiencies related to the security control baseline implementation, assessment, continuous monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and other security reviews and sources, as documented in the SAR, shall be documented and tracked by the Contractor for mitigation in the POA&M document. Depending on the severity of the risks, HRSA may require designated POAM weaknesses to be remediated before an ATO is issued. Thereafter, the POA&M shall be updated at least quarterly.

· Contingency Plan – due within 120 days prior to the Operational Readiness Review. The Contingency Plan must be developed in accordance with NIST SP 800-34, latest revision, and be consistent with HHS and HRSA policies. The Contractor shall review/update the Contingency Plan at least annually thereafter.

· Contingency Plan Test – due within 60 days of acceptance of the Contingency Plan by the System Owner. Upon acceptance by the System Owner, the Contractor, in coordination with the System Owner, shall test the Contingency Plan and prepare a Contingency Plan Test Report that includes the test results, lessons learned and any action items that need to be addressed. The Contractor shall conduct a Contingency Plan Test at least annually thereafter.

· E-Authentication Questionnaire – The contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall collaborate with government personnel to ensure that an E-Authentication Threshold Analysis (E-auth TA) is completed to determine if a full E-Authentication Risk Assessment (E-auth RA) is necessary. System documentation developed for a system using E-auth TA/E-auth RA methods shall follow OMB 04-04 and NIST SP 800-63, Rev. 2, Electronic Authentication Guidelines.

Based on the level of assurance determined by the E-Auth, the Contractor (and/or subcontractor) must ensure appropriate authentication to the system, including remote authentication, is in-place in accordance with the assurance level determined by the E-Auth (when required) in accordance with HHS policies.

b. Information Security Continuous Monitoring. Upon the government issuance of an Authority to Operate (ATO), the Contractor (and/or subcontractor)-owned/operated systems that input, store, process, output, and/or transmit government information, shall meet or exceed the information security continuous monitoring (ISCM) requirements in accordance with FISMA and NIST SP 800-137, Information Security Continuous Monitoring (ISCM) for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, and HHS IS2P. The following are the minimum requirements for ISCM:

· Annual Assessment/Review - Assess the system security and privacy controls (or ensure an assessment of the controls is conducted) at least annually to determine the implemented security and privacy controls are operating as intended and producing the desired results. In addition, review all relevant SA&A documentation (SSP, POA&M, Contingency Plan, etc.) and provide updates by specified due date [OpDiv provided].

· Asset Management - Using any available Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP)-compliant automated tools for active/passive scans, provide an inventory of all information technology (IT) assets for hardware and software, (computers, servers, routers, databases, operating systems, etc.) that are processing HHS-owned information/data The inventory information is required to be produced within 30 days of the EPLC Performance Baseline Review. Final version due within 30 days prior to the Operational Readiness Review and reviewed and updated on a monthly basis thereafter. IT asset inventory information shall include IP address, machine name, operating system level, security patch level, and SCAP-compliant format information. The contractor shall maintain a capability to provide an inventory of 100% of its IT assets using SCAP-compliant automated tools.

· Configuration Management - Use available SCAP-compliant automated tools, per NIST IR 7511, for authenticated scans to provide visibility into the security configuration compliance status of all IT assets, (computers, servers, routers, databases, operating systems, application, etc.) that store and process government information. Compliance will be measured using IT assets and standard HHS and government configuration baselines prior to the EPLC Operational Readiness Review. The contractor shall maintain a capability to provide security configuration compliance information for 100% of its IT assets using SCAP-compliant automated tools.

· Vulnerability Management - Use SCAP-compliant automated tools for authenticated scans to scan information system(s) and detect any security vulnerabilities in all assets (computers, servers, routers, Web applications, databases, operating systems, etc.) that store and process government information. Contractors shall actively manage system vulnerabilities using automated tools and technologies where practicable and in accordance with HHS policy. Automated tools shall be compliant with NIST-specified SCAP standards for vulnerability identification and management. If externally-hosted and HRSA is unable to directly scan the system/application, the contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall provide security vulnerability scanning information for 100% of IT assets using SCAP-compliant automated tools and report to the agency prior to the EPLC ORR and at least monthly thereafter and upon request.

· Patching and Vulnerability Remediation - Install vendor released security patches and remediate critical and high vulnerabilities in systems processing government information in an expedited manner, within vendor and agency specified timeframes:

· 30 days for Critical and High risk vulnerabilities

· Critical and High vulnerabilities identified by an application scan are required to be remediated prior to the EPLC ORR.

· 90 days for Moderate risk vulnerabilities; and

· 180 days for Low risk vulnerabilities.

· Secure Coding - Follow secure coding best practice requirements, as directed by United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) specified standards and the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), that will limit system software vulnerability exploits.

3) Government Access for Security Assessment. In addition to the Inspection Clause in the contract, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall afford the Government access to the Contractor’s facilities, installations, operations, documentation, information systems, and personnel used in performance of this contract to the extent required to carry out a program of security assessment (to include vulnerability testing), investigation, and audit to safeguard against threats and hazards to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of federal data or to the protection of information systems operated on behalf of HHS, including but are not limited to:

a. At any tier handling or accessing information, consent to and allow the Government, or an independent third party working at the Government’s direction, without notice at any time during a weekday during regular business hours contractor local time, to access contractor and subcontractor installations, facilities, infrastructure, data centers, equipment (including but not limited to all servers, computing devices, and portable media), operations, documentation (whether in electronic, paper, or other forms), databases, and personnel which are used in performance of the contract.

The Government includes but is not limited to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office, and the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The purpose of the access is to facilitate performance inspections and reviews, security and compliance audits, and law enforcement investigations. For security audits, the audit may include but not be limited to such items as buffer overflows, open ports, unnecessary services, lack of user input filtering, cross site scripting vulnerabilities, SQL injection vulnerabilities, and any other known vulnerabilities.

b. At any tier handling or accessing protected information, fully cooperate with all audits, inspections, investigations, forensic analysis, or other reviews or requirements needed to carry out requirements presented in applicable law or policy. Beyond providing access, full cooperation also includes, but is not limited to, disclosure to investigators of information sufficient to identify the nature and extent of any criminal or fraudulent activity and the individuals responsible for that activity. It includes timely and complete production of requested data, metadata, information, and records relevant to any inspection, audit, investigation, or review, and making employees of the contractor available for interview by inspectors, auditors, and investigators upon request. Full cooperation also includes allowing the Government to make reproductions or copies of information and equipment, including, if necessary, collecting a machine or system image capture.

c. Segregate Government protected information and metadata on the handling of Government protected information from other information. Commingling of information is prohibited. Inspectors, auditors, and investigators will not be precluded from having access to the sought information if sought information is commingled with other information.

d. Cooperate with inspections, audits, investigations, and reviews.

4) End of Life Compliance. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must use Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) software or other software that is supported by the manufacturer. In addition, the COTS/other software need to be within one major version of the current version; deviation from this requirement will only be allowed via the HHS waiver process (approved by HHS CISO). The contractor shall retire and/or upgrade all software/systems that have reached end-of-life in accordance with HHS End-of-Life Operating Systems, Software, and Applications Policy.

5) Desktops, Laptops, and Other Computing Devices Required for Use by the Contractor. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure that all IT equipment (e.g., laptops, desktops, servers, routers, mobile devices, peripheral devices, etc.) used to process information on behalf of HHS are deployed and operated in accordance with approved security configurations and meet the following minimum requirements:

a. Encrypt equipment and sensitive information stored and/or processed by such equipment in accordance with HHS and FIPS 140-2 encryption standards.

b. Configure laptops and desktops in accordance with the latest applicable United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB) and HHS Minimum Security Configuration Standards;

c. Maintain the latest operating system patch release and anti-virus software definitions;

d. Validate the configuration settings after hardware and software installation, operation, maintenance, update, and patching and ensure changes in hardware and software do not alter the approved configuration settings; and

e. Automate configuration settings and configuration management in accordance with HHS security policies, including but not limited to:

· Configuring its systems to allow for periodic HHS vulnerability and security configuration assessment scanning; and

6) Using Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP)-validated tools with USGCB Scanner capabilities to scan its systems at least on a monthly basis and report the results of these scans to the CO and/or COR, Project Officer, and any other applicable designated POC.

Acquisitions Involving Government information Processed using Cloud Services

1. HHS FedRAMP Privacy and Security Requirements

The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall be responsible for the following privacy and security requirements:

1) FedRAMP Compliant ATO. Comply with FedRAMP Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A) requirements and ensure the information system/service under this contract has a valid FedRAMP compliant (approved) authority to operate (ATO) in accordance with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 199 defined security categorization. If a FedRAMP compliant ATO has not been granted, the Contractor shall submit a plan to obtain a FedRAMP compliant ATO.

a. Implement applicable FedRAMP baseline controls commensurate with the agency-defined security categorization and the applicable FedRAMP security control baseline (www.FedRAMP.gov). The HHS Information Security and Privacy Policy (IS2P) and HHS Cloud Computing and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Guidance further define the baseline policies as well as roles and responsibilities. The Contractor shall also implement a set of additional controls identified by the agency when applicable.

b. A security control assessment must be conducted by a FedRAMP third-party assessment organization (3PAO) for the initial ATO and annually thereafter or whenever there is a significant change to the system’s security posture in accordance with the FedRAMP Continuous Monitoring Plan.

2) Data Jurisdiction. The contractor shall store all information within the security authorization boundary, data at rest or data backup, within the continental United States (CONUS) if so required.

3) Service Level Agreements. Add when applicable The Contractor shall understand the terms of the service agreements that define the legal relationships between cloud customers and cloud providers and work with HRSA to develop and maintain an SLA.

4) Interconnection Agreements/Memorandum of Agreements. Add when applicable The Contractor shall establish and maintain Interconnection Agreements and or Memorandum of Agreements/Understanding in accordance with HHS/HRSA policies.

Protection of Information in a Cloud Environment

1) If contractor (and/or any subcontractor) personnel must remove any information from the primary work area, they shall protect it to the same extent they would the proprietary data and/or company trade secrets and in accordance with HHS/HRSA policies.

2) HHS will retain unrestricted rights to federal data handled under this contract. Specifically, HHS retains ownership of any user created/loaded data and applications collected, maintained, used, or operated on behalf of HHS and hosted on contractor’s infrastructure, as well as maintains the right to request full copies of these at any time. If requested, data must be available to HHS within one (1) business day from request date or within the timeframe specified otherwise. In addition, the data shall be provided at no additional cost to HHS.

3) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure that the facilities that house the network infrastructure are physically and logically secure in accordance with FedRAMP requirements and HHS policies.

4) The contractor shall support a system of records in accordance with NARA-approved records schedule(s) and protection requirements for federal agencies to manage their electronic records in accordance with 36 CFR § 1236.20 & 1236.22 (ref. a), including but not limited to the following:

a. Maintenance of links between records and metadata, and

b. Categorization of records to manage retention and disposal, either through transfer of permanent records to NARA or deletion of temporary records in accordance with NARA-approved retention schedules.

5) The disposition of all HHS data shall be at the written direction of HHS/HRSA. This may include documents returned to HHS control; destroyed; or held as specified until otherwise directed. Items returned to the Government shall be hand carried or sent by certified mail to the COR.

6) If the system involves the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals, the Contractor shall comply with the Privacy Act requirements [OpDiv include Privacy Act language from Section 3].

1. Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A) Process

1) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall comply with HHS and FedRAMP requirements as mandated by federal laws, regulations, and HHS policies, including making available any documentation, physical access, and logical access needed to support the SA&A requirement. The level of effort for the SA&A is based on the system’s FIPS 199 security categorization and HHS/HRSA security policies.

a. In addition to the FedRAMP compliant ATO, the contractor shall complete and maintain an agency SA&A package to obtain agency ATO prior to system deployment/service implementation. The agency ATO must be approved by the HRSA authorizing official (AO) prior to implementation of system and/or service being acquired.

b. CSP systems categorized as Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 199 high must leverage a FedRAMP accredited third-party assessment organization (3PAO); moderate impact CSP systems must make a best effort to use a FedRAMP accredited 3PAO. CSP systems categorized as FIPS 199 low impact may leverage a non-accredited, independent assessor.

c. For all acquired cloud services, the SA&A package must contain the following documentation:

a. Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)

b. FedRAMP Test Procedures and Results

c. Security Assessment Plan (SAP)

d. Security Assessment Report (SAR)

e. System Security Plan (SSP)

f. IT System Contingency Plan (CP)

g. IT System CP Test Results

h. Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M)

i. Continuous Monitoring Plan (CMP)

j. FedRAMP Control Tailoring Workbook

k. Control Implementation Summary Table

l. Results of Penetration Testing

m. Software Code Review

n. E-Authentication Questionnaire

o. System of Record Notice (SORN)

p. Interconnection Agreements/Service Level Agreements/Memorandum of Agreements

Following the initial ATO, the Contractor must review and maintain the ATO in accordance with HHS/HRSA policies.

2) HHS reserves the right to perform penetration testing (pen testing) on all systems operated on behalf of agency. If HHS exercises this right, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall allow HHS employees (and/or designated third parties) to conduct Security Assessment activities to include control reviews in accordance with HHS requirements. Review activities include, but are not limited to, scanning operating systems, web applications, wireless scanning; network device scanning to include routers, switches, and firewall, and IDS/IPS; databases and other applicable systems, including general support structure, that support the processing, transportation, storage, or security of Government information for vulnerabilities.

3) The Contractor must identify any gaps between required FedRAMP Security Control Baseline/Continuous Monitoring controls and the contractor’s implementation status as documented in the Security Assessment Report and related Continuous Monitoring artifacts. In addition, all gaps shall be documented and tracked by the contractor for mitigation in a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) document. Depending on the severity of the risks, HHS may require remediation at the contractor’s expense, before HHS issues an ATO.

4) The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall mitigate security risks for which they are responsible, including those identified during SA&A and continuous monitoring activities. All high risk vulnerabilities must be remediated no later than thirty (30) days from discovery. All moderate risk vulnerabilities must be remediated no later than ninety (90) days from discovery. All low risk vulnerabilities must be remediated no later than one hundred and eighty (180) days from discovery. HRSA will determine the risk rating of vulnerabilities using FedRAMP baselines.

5) Revocation of a Cloud Service. HHS/HRSA have the right to take action in response to the CSP’s lack of compliance and/or increased level of risk. In the event the CSP fails to meet HHS and FedRAMP security and privacy requirements and/or there is an incident involving sensitive information, HHS and/or HRSA may suspend or revoke an existing agency ATO (either in part or in whole) and/or cease operations. If an ATO is suspended or revoked in accordance with this provision, the CO and/or COR may direct the CSP to take additional security measures to secure sensitive information. These measures may include restricting access to sensitive information on the Contractor information system under this contract. Restricting access may include disconnecting the system processing, storing, or transmitting the sensitive information from the Internet or other networks or applying additional security controls.

Reporting and Continuous Monitoring

1) Following the initial ATOs, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) must perform the minimum ongoing continuous monitoring activities specified below, submit required deliverables by the specified due dates, and meet with the system/service owner and other relevant stakeholders to discuss the ongoing continuous monitoring activities, findings, and other relevant matters. The CSP will work with the agency to schedule ongoing continuous monitoring activities. [OpDiv include meetings/deliverables timelines as applicable/necessary]

2) At a minimum, the Contractor must provide the following artifacts/deliverables on a monthly basis:

a. Operating system, database, Web application, and network vulnerability scan results;

b. Updated POA&Ms;

c. Any updated authorization package documentation as required by the annual attestation/assessment/review or as requested by the HRSA System Owner or AO; and

d. Any configuration changes to the system and/or system components or CSP’s cloud environment, that may impact HHS/HRSA’s security posture. Changes to the configuration of the system, its components, or environment that may impact the security posture of the system under this contract must be approved by the agency.

Configuration Baseline

1) The contractor shall certify that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the US Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB), DISA Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), Center for Information Security (CIS) Security Benchmarks or any other HHS-identified configuration baseline. The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updates, and/or patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the approved HHS/HRSA configuration baseline.

2) The contractor shall use Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) validated tools with configuration baseline scanner capability to certify their products operate correctly with HHS and NIST defined configurations and do not alter these settings.

Incident Reporting FISMA defines an incident as “an occurrence that (1) actually or imminently jeopardizes, without lawful authority, the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of information or an information system; or (2) constitutes a violation or imminent threat of violation of law, security policies, security procedures, or acceptable use policies. The HHS Policy for IT Security and Privacy Incident Reporting and Response further defines incidents as events involving cybersecurity and privacy threats, such as viruses, malicious user activity, loss of, unauthorized disclosure or destruction of data, and so on.

A privacy breach is a type of incident and is defined by Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) as the loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, or any similar occurrence where (1) a person other than an authorized user accesses or potentially accesses personally identifiable information or (2) an authorized user accesses or potentially accesses personally identifiable information for an other than authorized purpose. The HHS Policy for IT Security and Privacy Incident Reporting and Response further defines a breach as “a suspected or confirmed incident involving PII” .

In the event of a suspected or confirmed incident or…