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Account Lockout

What is Account Lockout?

A security feature that temporarily disables a user account after a specified number of failed authentication attempts to prevent brute force attacks.

Information Security

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as account lockout. The number is how many controls name both.

What the standards actually require on account lockout

Requirements naming account lockout across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

CMMC 2.01 control

Cap the number of consecutive failed logon attempts allowed and take a defined action, such as account lockout, once that limit is reached.

AC.L2-3.1.8 · Unsuccessful Logon Attempts

RP ID + origin binding define the SCOPE of a credential. RP ID: an effective domain (e.g. example.com) - a credential created with rpId=example.com works for example.com + www.example.com + login.example.com but NOT for evil.com NOR sub.different.com.

FIDO2-RP-Identity · Relying Party Identifier, Origin Binding, Cross-Origin and Conditional UI
IEEE 16861 control

Section 5.1 establishes electronic access account management capabilities required of IEDs. Per public IEEE 1686 + IEEE Std abstract + vendor capability statements (full IEEE text NOT reproduced): individual user accounts with unique identification (5.1) + no...

IEEE1686-Section5.1-AccessControl-Accounts-Roles-Password-Session-Remote · IEEE 1686 Section 5.1 - Electronic Access Account Management + Roles + Password + Failed Login + Session + Remote Access + Personnel
NERC CIP1 control

Implement system security management per CIP-007-6 including: ports and services management + security patch management (35-day evaluation + plan for mitigating actions) + malicious code prevention + security event monitoring + system access control (shared ac...

NERCCIP-5 · System Security Management + Configuration Change Management and Vulnerability Assessments (CIP-007 + CIP-010)

Address API2:2023 Broken Authentication + token management per OWASP API Security Top 10 2023. Broken Authentication occurs when authentication mechanisms are weak + improperly implemented + or bypassable.

OWASPAPI-2 · Broken Authentication and Token Management
OWASP ASVS1 control

Per OWASP ASVS V2 + V2.4: implement strong authentication + credential storage. Requirements include (a) implement password strength requirements aligned with NIST SP 800-63B + reject compromised passwords against published breach lists + (b) implement secure...

OWASPASVS-2 · Authentication and Credential Storage (V2 + V2.4)

Questions people ask about account lockout

What is Account Lockout?
A security feature that temporarily disables a user account after a specified number of failed authentication attempts to prevent brute force attacks.
Why is Account Lockout important for compliance?
Account Lockout is a key concept in Information Security. Understanding account lockout helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Account Lockout?
Account Lockout appears in the requirement text of CMMC 2.0, FIDO2 / WebAuthn, IEEE 1686, NERC CIP, OWASP API Security Top 10 - 2023. Across these standards we have identified 6 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Account Lockout?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how account lockout applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Account Lockout applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.