MP.L2-3.8.6  

Reference: CMMC 2.11

Family: MP

Level Introduced: 2

Title: Portable Storage Encryption

Practice:
Implement cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of CUI stored on digital media during transport unless otherwise protected by alternative physical safeguards.

CMMC Clarification:
CUI can be stored and transported on a variety of media like magnetic disks, tapes, USB drives, CD-ROMs, and so on. This makes digital CUI data very portable. The portability increases the chance that the media is lost. When identifying the paths CUI flows through your organization, identify devices to include in this practice.

To mitigate the risk of losing or exposing CUI an organization should implement an encryption scheme to protect the data. Even if the media is lost the fact that it is properly encrypted renders the data inaccessible to other people. When encryption is not an option, alternative physical safeguards should be applied during transport.

Example
You manage the backups for file servers in your datacenter. In addition to the organization's sensitive information you know that CUI is stored on the file servers. As part of a broader plan to protect data your organization has begun sending the backup tapes off-site to a vendor. You are aware that your backup software provides the option to encrypt data onto tape. You develop a plan to test and enable backup encryption for the data sent off site. This will encrypt the data on the backup tapes while they are being transported.

Source: CMMC v2.0