Accreditation is the official management decision to authorize operation of an information system. Which option matches this definition?

• A. The official management decision to authorize operation
• B. A comprehensive assessment of the management, operational, and technical security controls
• C. The interconnection agreement
• D. The decommissioning plan

Answer: (A)

Accreditation is the formal authorization to operate a system granted by management after evaluating the security controls. The option that matches this definition is the one that states the official management decision to authorize operation. The other items describe related but distinct activities: a comprehensive assessment is the evaluation of security controls that informs accreditation, an interconnection agreement covers linking systems, and a decommissioning plan outlines retiring the system.