SI-5(1): Automated Alerts and Advisories

To meet the si-5(1): automated alerts and advisories requirement, you must broadcast security alert and advisory information across the organization using an automated mechanism you define, then prove it works in practice with repeatable evidence. Operationally, that means a governed intake, triage, distribution, and escalation workflow backed by tooling, ownership, and audit-ready records. ¹

Key takeaways:

• You need an automated broadcast mechanism (not ad hoc emails) with clear scope, recipients, and triggers.
• Auditors will focus on coverage and timeliness, plus evidence that advisories drove actions (patches, mitigations, tickets).
• The fastest path is to map ownership, procedure, and recurring artifacts so SI-5(1) stays “always on,” not a quarterly scramble.

SI-5(1) sits in the System and Information Integrity family and is assessed like an operational muscle: your org needs to ingest credible security alerts and advisories, decide what matters, and broadcast them quickly to the people who can act. The control enhancement is short, but expectations are not. Assessors usually want to see that your “broadcast” is reliable, targeted (not spam), and tied to action. They also want to see that it works across real organizational seams: IT vs. security, corporate vs. subsidiaries, on-prem vs. cloud, and employees vs. contractors.

This page gives requirement-level implementation guidance you can put into production quickly: who owns it, what tooling patterns work, what evidence to retain, and what questions auditors ask. The goal is to make SI-5(1) a repeatable program, not a heroic effort after a critical CVE drops. Control language: “Broadcast security alert and advisory information throughout the organization using [an organization-defined automated mechanism].” ¹

Regulatory text

Requirement (verbatim): “Broadcast security alert and advisory information throughout the organization using {{ insert: param, si-05.01_odp }}.” ¹

Operator interpretation of the parameter: the placeholder indicates you must define the automated mechanism(s) you will use to broadcast alerts/advisories (for example: ITSM notifications, SIEM/SOAR-driven messaging, email distribution automation, collaboration channels with automation, endpoint management pop-ups, or an internal advisory portal with push notifications).

What you must do to comply:

1. Define the automated broadcast mechanism(s) and document them as the organization’s chosen method for SI-5(1).
2. Ensure the mechanism reaches the right audiences “throughout the organization,” including teams that actually remediate risk (infrastructure, app, cloud, identity, SOC, service desk, third-party management, leadership for high severity).
3. Operate the mechanism so advisories are not only sent, but also triaged, tracked, and closed through measurable actions (tickets, changes, compensating controls).
   ( Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 OSCAL JSON)

Plain-English interpretation (what SI-5(1) is really asking)

You need an automated way to push security advisories (internal and external) to the people who must respond, without relying on someone remembering to email a list. “Advisories” includes items like critical vulnerability announcements, exploitation activity, security configuration guidance, vendor security bulletins, cloud provider incident notices, and internal detections that require broad awareness.

The “broadcast” requirement is organizational, not just technical. A perfectly tuned SIEM alert that only the SOC sees can still fail SI-5(1) if infrastructure and application owners never receive actionable advisories with clear next steps.

Who it applies to (entity and operational context)

Entity types most commonly scoped to SI-5(1):

• Federal information systems and programs aligned to NIST SP 800-53. ²
• Contractors and third parties operating systems that handle federal data (for example, environments supporting federal workloads). ²

Operational contexts where audits get strict:

• Hybrid environments (on-prem + multiple clouds) where advisories must reach different operations teams.
• Decentralized orgs where business units own their own IT or apps.
• Outsourced operations (MSP, SOC, managed cloud) where broadcast and remediation cross contractual boundaries.

What you actually need to do (step-by-step)

1) Assign ownership and define scope

• Control owner: usually Security Operations, Vulnerability Management, or GRC with operational delegation.
• Scope statement: what counts as an “alert/advisory,” which systems are in scope, and which internal audiences must receive which classes of advisories.
• Decision point: include third parties (MSPs, key SaaS admins) in distribution if they operate in-scope systems.

Deliverable: a one-page SI-5(1) control implementation statement that names the automated mechanism(s), audiences, and escalation triggers. ¹

2) Build an advisory intake pipeline (sources + normalization)

Create an intake list with categories:

• Vendor/security bulletins (OS, network, EDR, IAM, SaaS, cloud)
• Government/sector advisories relevant to your footprint
• Internal detections and threat intel summaries that require action
• Third-party notifications (key suppliers, MSP, hosting providers)

Operational tip: normalize advisories into a single internal record format: title, summary, affected assets, severity/priority, required actions, deadline guidance, owner, and broadcast list.

3) Define triage rules (what becomes a broadcast)

Write simple criteria your team can apply consistently:

• Broadcast immediately when: confirmed exploitation activity affecting your stack; widely exploited vulnerabilities; credential theft campaigns targeting your SSO; high-impact misconfiguration guidance.
• Broadcast as scheduled digest when: informational updates, low relevance items, duplicates.

Avoid a broadcast firehose. Excess noise causes business units to mute the channel and undermines the control’s intent.

4) Implement the automated broadcast mechanisms

Pick mechanisms that are truly automated and traceable. Common patterns:

• ITSM-driven: advisory record auto-creates tasks and notifies assignment groups; updates propagate via subscriptions.
• SOAR-driven: ingestion triggers enrichment and pushes advisories to predefined channels and ticket queues.
• Mail/Collaboration automation: automated distribution lists and templated posts with tracking.
• Portal + push: an internal advisory page with automated notifications to subscribed teams.

Minimum expectation: the broadcast is initiated by a system workflow (rule, playbook, automation) and produces logs you can export for evidence. ¹

5) Tie broadcast to action (tickets, changes, mitigations)

For each broadcast class, define what “done” means:

• Patch applied / version upgraded
• Compensating control implemented (WAF rule, config change, segmentation)
• Exception documented with risk acceptance and expiry

Practical approach: every advisory above your internal threshold should produce a trackable work item (ticket/change) with an owner and closure evidence.

6) Establish escalation and governance

• Escalate high-impact advisories to incident management or an exec-aware channel (CIO/CTO/CISO staff) with business impact framing.
• Add a weekly governance review: “open advisories,” “blocked remediation,” “exceptions about to expire.”
• Keep distribution lists current with HR/identity automation (joiners/movers/leavers).

7) Test the mechanism and keep it “assessment ready”

Run periodic tabletop-style tests using a synthetic advisory:

• Confirm broadcast reaches intended audiences
• Confirm ticket creation, routing, and closure paths work
• Confirm evidence capture is automatic

If you use Daydream for third-party risk and GRC workflow, map SI-5(1) to an owner, a written procedure, and recurring evidence tasks so you never rebuild proof during an assessment. That mapping is also the cleanest way to show auditors you operate the control continuously. ¹

Required evidence and artifacts to retain

Keep evidence that shows design and operating effectiveness:

Design evidence (static)

• SI-5(1) control implementation statement naming automated mechanism(s) and audiences ¹
• Procedure/runbook: intake → triage → broadcast → action → closure
• RACI chart for advisory management (who approves broadcasts, who owns remediation)

Operating evidence (recurring)

• Samples of advisories with timestamps and distribution proof (email headers, collaboration post IDs, ITSM notification logs)
• ITSM/SOAR workflow logs showing automated triggers and recipients
• Advisory-to-ticket linkage (record IDs), including closure notes and change records
• Exception/risk acceptance records tied to specific advisories
• Distribution list change logs or identity-driven group membership proof

Evidence hygiene rule: store artifacts in a single, searchable location with retention aligned to your audit window.

Common exam/audit questions and hangups

Auditors tend to probe these areas:

• “Show me how an external advisory becomes an internal broadcast. Where is it documented?” ¹
• “Who receives the broadcast? How do you know coverage is organization-wide?”
• “Is this automated, or does someone manually email people?”
• “Show a sample from a recent advisory: what action did it drive?”
• “How do you prevent missed notifications during staff turnover or re-orgs?”
• “What happens when a third party operates affected systems? Do they receive advisories and produce closure evidence?”

Common hangup: teams can show many SIEM alerts, but cannot show advisories that reached asset owners with clear remediation actions.

Frequent implementation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

1. Mistaking SOC alerts for advisories.
   Fix: create an “advisory” object type that is meant for broad operational consumption, not only SOC triage.

2. Manual broadcasts with no audit trail.
   Fix: route broadcasts through ITSM/SOAR automation or a system that logs message delivery and recipients. ¹

3. Over-broadcasting and training the org to ignore you.
   Fix: use severity-based routing and digests; reserve immediate broadcasts for actionable, relevant items.

4. No linkage to remediation.
   Fix: require a ticket/change link for advisories above your internal threshold; treat “broadcast only” as incomplete.

5. Distribution lists drift out of date.
   Fix: bind lists to identity groups driven by HR attributes (team, role, system ownership) and review when ownership changes.

Enforcement context and risk implications

No public enforcement cases were provided in the source catalog for this requirement, so you should treat SI-5(1) primarily as an assessment and authorization readiness risk rather than a citation-driven penalty risk. The real exposure is operational: delayed or inconsistent advisory broadcast increases the chance that exploitable issues remain unpatched, exceptions linger, and business units act on outdated guidance. ²

Practical 30/60/90-day execution plan

First 30 days (stand up the minimum viable broadcast)

• Name the SI-5(1) owner and backups; publish a RACI.
• Define “advisory” categories and triage criteria.
• Pick the automated broadcast mechanism(s) you will defend in an audit and document them. ¹
• Start capturing evidence: keep a living log of advisories and distribution proof.

Days 31–60 (make it actionable and measurable)

• Integrate advisory records with ITSM: auto-create tasks for affected teams.
• Define closure states and required closure evidence (patch proof, change record, compensating control).
• Add escalation paths for high-impact items and define who approves exceptions.
• Run a test advisory through the pipeline and store the evidence package.

Days 61–90 (harden governance and audit readiness)

• Expand “throughout the organization” coverage: subsidiaries, remote sites, contractors, and outsourced operators.
• Tune noise: create digests, suppress duplicates, and improve targeting.
• Build an assessor-ready evidence bundle template and automate recurring exports.
• In Daydream, map SI-5(1) to the owner, procedure, and recurring evidence tasks so artifacts are created and collected as part of normal operations. ¹

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SI-5(1) require a SIEM or SOAR tool?

No. It requires an automated way to broadcast advisories organization-wide, and you define the mechanism. A SIEM/SOAR is one option, but ITSM or automated distribution workflows can also meet the requirement if they are traceable. ¹

What counts as “throughout the organization” in practice?

It means advisories reach all relevant operational owners, not just security. Your distribution design should cover IT, cloud, application teams, identity, service desk, and leadership paths for high-impact items, based on your structure. ¹

Can we satisfy SI-5(1) with email?

Yes, if email is automated (for example, workflow-triggered with managed recipient groups) and you can retain delivery and recipient evidence. Ad hoc manual emails without logs tend to fail “automated” expectations. ¹

Do we need to broadcast every vulnerability (every CVE)?

The requirement is about security alert and advisory information, not an exhaustive CVE firehose. Define triage criteria so only relevant, actionable items become broadcasts, and show auditors that the criteria are followed consistently. ¹

How do we handle advisories for systems run by a third party?

Treat the third party as part of the operational audience. Broadcast advisories to the third party operator and require closure evidence through tickets, change records, or contractually required remediation attestations.

What’s the minimum evidence package for an auditor walk-through?

Provide your documented mechanism and procedure, then show multiple advisory samples with timestamps, recipients, and linked remediation work items through closure. That combination usually demonstrates both design and operation. ¹

Footnotes

1. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 OSCAL JSON

2. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5