# Define the regulated Facility Security Assessment before drafting the plan > Use 33 CFR 105.300 -- Maritime Security: Facilities to review this narrow operational decision without extending the source beyond its stated scope. - Canonical URL: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/define-the-regulated-facility-security-assessment-before-drafting-the-plan/ - Publisher: Detection Systems & Engineering (DSE Security) - Author: DSE Security Editorial Team - Published: 2026-08-27T12:10:58+00:00 - Modified: 2026-08-27T13:09:38+00:00 - Last reviewed by DSE: 2026-08-26 - Resource type: Explainer - DSE priority: Advisory - Topics: Access Control, Cybersecurity, Video Surveillance - Reading time: 3 minutes ## What you need to know Use 33 CFR 105.300 -- Maritime Security: Facilities to review this narrow operational decision without extending the source beyond its stated scope. ## Potentially affected Teams, systems, services, or facilities within the stated scope of 33 CFR 105.300 -- Maritime Security: Facilities ## DSE recommendation Compare the observed state with the cited official source, document applicability and exceptions, and test any approved change with rollback safeguards. ## Article Frame this document as a source-led configuration and assurance check: Define the regulated Facility Security Assessment before drafting the plan. Only the official source and traced locations below supply facts. Confirm applicability before acting. ## Source fact: The official [33 CFR 105.300 — Maritime Security: Facilities](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/section-105.300) from U.S. Coast Guard via eCFR supports the following bounded statements: - Under 33 CFR 105, the Facility Security Assessment (FSA) is a written document that is based on the collection of background information, the completion of an on-scene survey and an analysis of that information. The research record locates this support at 33 CFR 105.300(a) (eCFR anchor p-105.300(a)). - Under 33 CFR 105, the rule requires that those involved in a FSA be able to draw upon expert assistance in the following areas, as appropriate: facility security requirements. The research record locates this support at 33 CFR 105.300(d)(7), read with 33 CFR 105.300(d) (eCFR anchor p-105.300(d)(7)). These statements are the factual basis for this document. Do not extend them into a broader assurance. Review access control, video, intrusion detection, communications, supporting facilities, operators, and documented response paths only where the source and recorded environment align. ## What the source does not establish Applies only to facilities within 33 CFR part 105 and the cited section. Confirm Coast Guard jurisdiction, the approved Facility Security Plan, the current MARSEC level, and any approved alternatives; this is not legal advice or a universal facility-design standard. The citation is not a substitute for observed state, authorization, compliance evidence, or dependency health. Examine identity, Windows DNS where used, time, networks, power, life-safety systems, vendors, and monitoring personnel before translating the source into an operational decision. ## Applicability questions - For source statement 1 at 33 CFR 105.300(a) (eCFR anchor p-105.300(a)), which observable configuration, record, or test can confirm applicability here? - For source statement 2 at 33 CFR 105.300(d)(7), read with 33 CFR 105.300(d) (eCFR anchor p-105.300(d)(7)), which observable configuration, record, or test can confirm applicability here? - Which owner can attest to the recorded state of access control, video, intrusion detection, communications, supporting facilities, operators, and documented response paths, including exceptions? - What baseline for identity, Windows DNS where used, time, networks, power, life-safety systems, vendors, and monitoring personnel must accompany the source-specific observation? - Which success, stop, and escalation criteria are written before testing begins? ## DSE recommendation: DSE recommends using the cited source as the evidence anchor for this decision. Start with applicability, then compare the observed state with the cited source. Record the source location, examined part of access control, video, intrusion detection, communications, supporting facilities, operators, and documented response paths, observed and expected states, owner, and reason for deviation. Do not move from citation to production in one step. Pilot the decision where practical, observe agreed signals, retain a reversal point, and verify identity, Windows DNS where used, time, networks, power, life-safety systems, vendors, and monitoring personnel. Handle credentials, keys, recovery data, and personal information through approved secure channels. ## Verification and evidence A reviewer should be able to retrace the decision from 33 CFR 105.300(a) (eCFR anchor p-105.300(a)); 33 CFR 105.300(d)(7), read with 33 CFR 105.300(d) (eCFR anchor p-105.300(d)(7)) through asset and firmware inventories, configuration exports, event tests, inspections, alarm response records, and maintenance findings. Record what was collected, where, when, by whom, and which system or role it represents. Preserve both successful and failed observations, along with approval and rollback evidence. Avoid uncontrolled production experiments. Assign an expiry or event-driven recheck so the conclusion is not treated as permanent. ## Official references - [33 CFR 105.300 — Maritime Security: Facilities](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/section-105.300) — U.S. Coast Guard via eCFR ## Primary reference - Name: 33 CFR 105.300 -- Maritime Security: Facilities - Authority: www.ecfr.gov - URL: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/section-105.300 - Source publication date: Not stated by the source ## Citation and use Preferred citation: “Define the regulated Facility Security Assessment before drafting the plan,” DSE Security, https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/define-the-regulated-facility-security-assessment-before-drafting-the-plan/ Publishing principles: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-updates-editorial-methodology/ Usage and citation policy: https://update.dsesecurity.com/usage/ Copyright © 2026 Detection Systems & Engineering. All rights reserved.