If your organization handles Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) for the Department of Defense or is preparing for CMMC certification, you’re bound to encounter this clause from NIST SP 800-171 3.3.2:
The content of the audit records needed to support the ability to uniquely trace users to their actions is defined.
On paper, it sounds straightforward — but in practice, this requirement trips up many organizations, especially those still relying on shared accounts for administrative access.
The Traceability Problem with Shared Accounts
The intent behind 3.3.2 is that every action in a system can be directly tied to a specific individual, without having to jump between multiple log sources. If the system’s own audit trail only shows “Admin” or “TechUser,” you don’t have full compliance — even if you can later deduce from third party logs that it was John Smith.
This indirect link has two big issues:
- It’s not self-contained — you need to correlate logs from different systems to find the real user.
- It’s audit-risky — assessors may see it as incomplete or tamper-prone.
Why Auditors Push for Unique Accounts
CMMC Level 2 and DoD assessors generally expect:
- Unique named accounts for each user, and
- native audit logs of the system in question showing actions tied to a unique user ID. If the account is shared, there’s typically no direct linkage in the logs native to the system — the link to the actual person exists only in a third-party correlation process. That’s weaker evidence and can be deemed non-compliant unless the correlation is automatic, tamper-proof, and part of your defined audit process.
Without this, your ability to “uniquely trace users to their actions” is only partial, and that can lead to a failed control during assessment.
How TechIDManager Closes the Gap
TechIDManager was built with this exact compliance challenge in mind. Here’s how it solves the traceability problem:
- Unique Technician Identities Across All Clients
Even when technicians must access shared credentials, TechIDManager ensures those actions are tied to their individual identity — in both the PAM logs and the target system. - Automated Credential Injection
Technicians never see or manually type shared credentials. TechIDManager injects them automatically, eliminating password sprawl and reducing insider risk. - Audit-Ready Logging
Every credential use is logged in the native system and in TechIDManager logs with the technician’s name, timestamp, and the target system — creating a complete, immutable trail that meets 3.3.2 requirements. - No More Manual Correlation
Because TechIDManager ties technician identity to the target system activity in real time, you don’t have to stitch together logs after the fact.
The Compliance Advantage
By implementing TechIDManager, you:
- Satisfy NIST 800-171 3.3.2 and related CMMC traceability requirements
- Reduce audit complexity and evidence-gathering time
- Strengthen security by removing credential visibility from human memory
Bottom line: TechIDManager turns a risky shared-account setup into a fully compliant, auditor-approved traceability model — without disrupting technician workflows.
