Overlay

Primary definition

A specification of security controls, control enhancements, supplemental guidance, and other supporting information employed during the tailoring process, that is intended to complement (and further refine) security control baselines. The overlay specification may be more stringent or less stringent than the original security control baseline specification and can be applied to multiple information systems. Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 4

Also known assecurity overlay · control overlay · baseline overlay
1 sources cited4 related termsReviewed by Martins Ogundare · Aug 9, 2026
Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015View source

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CNSSGC

A specification of security controls, control enhancements, supplemental guidance, and other supporting information employed during the tailoring process, that is intended to complement (and further refine) security control baselines. The overlay specification may be more stringent or less stringent than the original security control baseline specification and can be applied to multiple information systems. Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 4

Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015 · 2024

Cite this term

Permanent URL · stable across revisions
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Overlay. In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/overlay

Sources

1 cited · last checked Aug 9, 2026

01

Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015
Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015

Single-source

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