cable tray
163657·updated Oct 4, 2026A physical infrastructure component — a rigid, open or enclosed channel mounted overhead, underfloor, or along walls — used to route, support, and protect bundles of network, power, and telecommunications cables across a facility. In information security and compliance, cable trays function as a **physical safeguard for transmission media**: by enclosing cable runs in a structured, identifiable pathway, they reduce the risk of unauthorized access, physical tampering, accidental damage, and eavesdropping on unencrypted signals traversing those cables. Standards frameworks (NIST SP 800-53 PE-4, NIST SP 800-171 §3.10.2, ISO/IEC 27001 Control 7.12) enumerate them alongside locked wiring closets, conduit, and wiretap sensors as co-equal controls for protecting cabling infrastructure — making the phrase **compositional** in origin (it describes the physical object) but **used as a recognized term of art** within the physical-protection control family whenever physical access control over transmission media is addressed.
Source
Safeguarding measures applied to system distribution and transmission lines prevent accidental damage, disruption, and physical tampering. Such measures may also be necessary to prevent eavesdropping or the modification of unencrypted transmissions. Safeguarding measures used to control physical access to system distribution and transmission lines include disconnected or locked spare jacks, locked wiring closets, cabling protection with conduit or cable trays, and wiretapping sensors.the sentence this term was read in
generalized from a web lookup of the quoted expression, with 1 reviewed place(s) it is used as the term Verdict: term of art.
- SC-7(14): Protects Against Unauthorized Physical Connections
- 3.10.2: Protect and monitor the physical facility and support infrastructure for organizational systems - CSF Tools
- NIST SP 800-171 Framework Series: Physical Protection - CampusGuard
- ISO 27001 Control 7.12 - Cabling security - Cyberzoni.com
- Secure Control Wiring for Sensitive Rooms: NIST TEMPEST Requirements
- Safely Installing, Maintaining and Inspecting Cable Trays
- Regulatory Compliance Cabling: HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and FedRAMP Requirement
A definition generalized from search results is a draft to react to, not provenance. Confirm it against an authority document before this term is verified.
A web lookup ran when this term was proposed
A physical infrastructure component — a rigid, open or enclosed channel mounted overhead, underfloor, or along walls — used to route, support, and protect bundles of network, power, and telecommunications cables across a facility. In information security and compliance, cable trays function as a **physical safeguard for transmission media**: by enclosing cable runs in a structured, identifiable pathway, they reduce the risk of unauthorized access, physical tampering, accidental damage, and eavesdropping on unencrypted signals traversing those cables. Standards frameworks (NIST SP 800-53 PE-4, NIST SP 800-171 §3.10.2, ISO/IEC 27001 Control 7.12) enumerate them alongside locked wiring closets, conduit, and wiretap sensors as co-equal controls for protecting cabling infrastructure — making the phrase **compositional** in origin (it describes the physical object) but **used as a recognized term of art** within the physical-protection control family whenever physical access control over transmission media is addressed.
Advisory only. A term this product ships is defined by an authority document, not by a search result.
Proposed during multiword review of this document in the CKI mapping queue.
Attested in
Classifications
Entity Type
Sensitivity
Information Class
Variants
- plural
- cable trays
- possessive
- cable tray's
- pluralpossessive
- cable trays'
Framework definitions
- §1 · attested_usage_reviewer_confirmed
- No definition is given in NIST SP 800-171r3. The term is attested in use at 1 citation in that document; a definition is pending curation.Increment 2: attested in NIST SP 800-171r3 without a glossary definition.
- §1 · web_lookup_draft
- A physical infrastructure component — a rigid, open or enclosed channel mounted overhead, underfloor, or along walls — used to route, support, and protect bundles of network, power, and telecommunications cables across a facility. In information security and compliance, cable trays function as a **physical safeguard for transmission media**: by enclosing cable runs in a structured, identifiable pathway, they reduce the risk of unauthorized access, physical tampering, accidental damage, and eavesdropping on unencrypted signals traversing those cables. Standards frameworks (NIST SP 800-53 PE-4, NIST SP 800-171 §3.10.2, ISO/IEC 27001 Control 7.12) enumerate them alongside locked wiring closets, conduit, and wiretap sensors as co-equal controls for protecting cabling infrastructure — making the phrase **compositional** in origin (it describes the physical object) but **used as a recognized term of art** within the physical-protection control family whenever physical access control over transmission media is addressed.Drafted by the propose-term web lookup (PD-018); a curator confirms or replaces it.