Emergency Shutoff PE-10

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev.5, Physical and Environmental Protection family NIST SP 800-53 Rev.5. The baseline shows the lowest SP 800-53B baseline (Low / Moderate / High) this control appears in NIST SP 800-53B.

Control guide — plain-English, per NIST SP 800-53

PE-10 (Emergency Shutoff) is about being able to cut power to the system quickly in an emergency — a fire, a flood, a sparking power supply — placing that shutoff where authorized people can reach it, and protecting it so it cannot be flipped off by accident or by someone who should not touch it. It is a Moderate-baseline Physical and Environmental Protection control.

What good looks like

• Know how to cut power fast — a reachable switched PDU (Power Distribution Unit) outlet, a labeled wall switch, or a breaker — without crawling behind the rack.
• Place the shutoff where an authorized person can reach it in a hurry, but not where a passerby trips it.
• Protect it from accidental or unauthorized activation — a guarded switch, a cover, or a spot only staff reach.
• Make sure someone other than you knows where it is and how to use it.

Framework mapping

• NIST CSF 2.0 — PR.IR-02 — The organization’s technology assets are protected from environmental threats

How to move it toward Implemented

• Identify and document the emergency shutoff for the server — a switched PDU outlet, a wall switch, or the breaker number — and exactly where it is.
• Label it clearly, and if it is easy to bump, add a cover or guard so it is not tripped by accident.
• Write a two-line procedure: when to cut power and who is authorized to do it, and share it with anyone who shares the space.
• Attach that shutoff-location note and procedure as hardening evidence on the asset, naming PE-10 in the Requirement field — that moves it from ‘To assess’ toward ‘Completed’.