Mission Assurance Category

Applicable to Department of Defense (DoD) Information Systems (IS), the Mission Assurance Category reflects the importance of information relative to the achievement of DoD goals and objectives, particularly the warfighters’ combat mission. Mission Assurance Categories are primarily used to determine the requirements for availability and integrity. DoD has three de ned mission assurance categories: • Mission Assurance Category I: Systems handling information that is determined to be vital to the operational readiness or mission effectiveness of deployed and contingency forces in terms of both content and timeliness. The consequences of loss of integrity or availability of a Mission Assurance Category I system are unacceptable and could include the immediate and sustained loss of mission effectiveness. Mission Assurance Category I systems require the most stringent protection measures. • Mission Assurance Category II: Systems handling information that is important to the support of deployed and contingency forces. The consequences of loss of integrity are unacceptable. Loss of availability is dif cult to deal with and can only be tolerated for a short time. The consequences could include delay or degradation in providing important support services or commodities that may seriously impact mission effectiveness or operational readiness. Mission Assurance Category II systems require additional safeguards beyond best practices to ensure adequate assurance. • Mission Assurance Category III: Systems handling information that is necessary for the conduct of day-to-day business, but does not materially affect support to deployed or contingency forces in the short-term. The consequences of loss of integrity or availability can be tolerated or overcome without signi cant impacts on mission effectiveness or operational readiness. The consequences could include the delay or degradation of services or commodities enabling routine activities. Mission Assurance Category III systems require protective measures, techniques or procedures generally commensurate with commercial best practices.