Media Transport protects Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) on media while it moves outside the controlled areas where it normally lives. It is part of the Media Protection (03.08) family and picks up where Media Storage (03.08.01) leaves off, addressing the higher risk that media faces in transit. Media Transport (03.08.05) has three (3) parts: protect and control media that contain CUI during transport outside controlled areas, maintain accountability of that media during transport, and document the activities associated with the transport. Per the NIST discussion, protection during transport can include cryptography or locked containers, authorized transport and courier personnel may be external to the organization, and accountability includes restricting transport to authorized personnel and tracking the media as it moves.
A common difficulty with this requirement is moving backup tapes, drives, or documents without treating transport as a controlled activity. Media in transit is exposed to loss, theft, and tampering, and R3 adds an explicit objective to document transport activities, which many organizations never formalized. Encryption of the CUI, addressed under Transmission and Storage Confidentiality (03.13.08), is the most reliable protection during transport.
Where things stand for companies facing the transition from NIST 800-171 R2 to R3:
The following is reproduced verbatim from NIST 800-171 R3, requirement 03.08.05 Media Transport. Only the formatting has been adjusted for readability. This requirement has three (3) lettered parts:
The source controls are MP-05 and SC-28 from NIST 800-53. There are no Organization-Defined Parameters (ODPs). Per the NIST discussion, activities associated with media transport include releasing media for transport, ensuring media enter the appropriate transport processes, and the actual transport, and this requirement is related to 03.13.08 and 03.13.11. You can read the requirement directly at NIST 800-171 R3, 03.08.05 (p. 46).
None (0). Requirement 03.08.05 contains no bracketed assignment, so there is no organization-defined value to select and nothing for the DoD to specify. The requirement applies as written.
Your System Security Plan (SSP) narrative for 03.08.05 therefore records how the requirement is implemented rather than a parameter you chose.
NIST 800-171A R3 breaks 03.08.05 into four (4) determination statements, and it has no Organization-Defined Parameters (ODPs). These AOs are:
Part a splits into protect and control, and parts b and c cover accountability and documentation. An assessor checks all four. The full guidance on assessment methods and objects, is in NIST 800-171A R3, 03.08.05 (p. 60).
Examine: physical protection policy and procedures; media protection policy and procedures; procedures for media storage; access control policy and procedures; authorized personnel list; system media; designated controlled areas; system and communications protection policy and procedures; cryptographic mechanisms and configuration documentation; procedures for the protection of information at rest; system design documentation; system configuration settings; list of information at rest requiring confidentiality protections; system audit records; system security plan.
Interview: personnel with system media protection and storage responsibilities; personnel with information security responsibilities; system developers; system administrators.
Test: processes for storing information media; mechanisms for supporting or implementing media storage/media protection; mechanisms for supporting or implementing confidentiality protections for information at rest.
03.08.05 maps from NIST 800-171 R2 requirement 3.8.5 (control access to media containing CUI and maintain accountability for media during transport outside of controlled areas):
Mapped against the four (4) AOs, three (3) are direct (minimal effort) and one (1) is net new (significant effort), with none indirect and none with no mapping. Protection, control, and accountability carry forward, but documenting transport activities is the new obligation. Confirm you keep records of media transport rather than only controlling and tracking it informally.
Source Controls in NIST 800-53 R5:
Secure Controls Framework (SCF) Crosswalk
Organizations running a single control set across multiple frameworks can satisfy 03.08.05 through the following SCF controls:
The crosswalks from NIST 800-171 R3 and NIST 800-171A R3 to the SCF are available at no cost through the SCF Set Theory Relationship Mapping (STRM): https://securecontrolsframework.com/start-here/set-theory-relationship-mapping-strm. The STRM also carries the relationship type for each mapping (Equal, Subset Of, Intersects With), which tells you whether an SCF control fully satisfies the requirement or only part of it. Mapping above taken from SCF 2026.3.
The following are issues teams may encounter rather than certainties. They are about documentation and protection in transit, each of which needs documented evidence of due diligence and due care such as policies, standards, procedures, and configuration screenshots:
Reasonable objective evidence for an assessment is often subjective. The following examples of evidence to address NIST 800-171 R3 03.08.05 are sourced from the SCF Evidence Request List (ERL), available at https://securecontrolsframework.com/free-content/scf-download. These ERL artifacts are mapped to NIST 800-171 R3 03.08.05 through SCF controls. They establish a starting point for discussions on what an organization needs to have for evidence of due diligence and due care to withstand external scrutiny by an assessor or regulator.
Alongside these, keep the System Security Plan (SSP) narrative for 03.08.05.
With three (3) AOs mapping directly and one net new, 03.08.05 is a moderate lift centered on documentation. A realistic sequence:
How many assessment objectives does NIST 800-171 R3 03.08.05 have? NIST 800-171A R3 breaks 03.08.05 into four (4) assessment objectives. An assessor works through each one separately, so each needs its own evidence.
Which NIST 800-53 R5 controls does NIST 800-171 R3 03.08.05 come from? MP-05, SC-28.
How many Organization-Defined Parameters (ODPs) does NIST 800-171 R3 03.08.05 have? None (0). The requirement contains no bracketed assignment, so there is no organization-defined value and nothing for the DoD to specify.
Where does NIST 800-171 R3 03.08.05 sit in the NIST 800-171 R3 Kill Chain? Phase 8, Segmented Network Architecture. The Kill Chain is a phased model for sequencing R3 implementation, and it assigns this requirement to that phase.
03.08.05 Media Transport protects, controls, and maintains accountability for CUI-bearing media in transit and documents the transport activities. It maps from R2 3.8.5 with protection, control, and accountability transitioning directly, while documenting transport activities is net new. The recurring problem is moving media without records. Encrypt or contain the media, track it, and document the transport.
Authoritative sources:
Authoritative sources:
This guide reproduces U.S. Government text from NIST 800-171 R3 and NIST 800-171A R3. It is educational, not legal or assessment advice. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22.
