3.1.12Watch and control remote access

Know how people connect from outside, approve those methods, and monitor them.

AC
Level 2
5 pt
Rev. 3: Reworded

The requirement, verbatim

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 · 3.1.12
Monitor and control remote access sessions.

Requirement 3.1.12, practice name in the CMMC assessment guide: Control Remote Access.

NIST's discussion

Remote access is access to organizational systems by users (or processes acting on behalf of users) communicating through external networks (e.g., the internet). Remote access methods include dial-up, broadband, and wireless. Organizations often employ encrypted virtual private networks (VPNs) to enhance confidentiality over remote connections. The use of encrypted VPNs does not make the access non-remote; however, the use of VPNs, when adequately provisioned with appropriate control (e.g., employing encryption techniques for confidentiality protection), may provide sufficient assurance to the organization that it can effectively treat such connections as internal networks. VPNs with encrypted tunnels can affect the capability to adequately monitor network communications traffic for malicious code.

Automated monitoring and control of remote access sessions allows organizations to detect cyber-attacks and help to ensure ongoing compliance with remote access policies by auditing connection activities of remote users on a variety of system components (e.g., servers, workstations, notebook computers, smart phones, and tablets).

NIST SP 800-46, SP 800-77, and SP 800-113 provide guidance on secure remote access and virtual private networks.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, discussion under 3.1.12. Whitespace normalised; wording unchanged.

Assessment objectives

An assessor decides each of these separately. The requirement is met only when every objective is.

[a] remote access sessions are permitted
[b] the types of permitted remote access are identified
[c] remote access sessions are controlled
[d] remote access sessions are monitored

NIST SP 800-171A, determination statements for 3.1.12.

For assessors: examine, interview, test

NIST SP 800-171A names what an assessor may examine, whom they may interview, and what they may test for this requirement. Assessors select from these lists; they are not a checklist of everything you must produce.

Examine

Access control policy
procedures addressing remote access to the system
system configuration settings and associated documentation
system security plan
system audit logs and records
other relevant documents or records

Interview

Personnel with responsibilities for managing remote access connections
system or network administrators
personnel with information security responsibilities

Test

Mechanisms implementing remote access management

NIST SP 800-171A, potential assessment methods and objects for 3.1.12.

Evidence

No evidence examples are published for this requirement yet. The objectives above are what an assessor checks; evidence is whatever shows each one is true in your environment, dated and kept with your system security plan.

Scoring weight

Worth 5 points. Not meeting this requirement subtracts 5 from your 110-point SPRS score. These are the requirements with the largest effect on your posture.

DoD NIST SP 800-171 Assessment Methodology v1.2.1 weighting, as carried in the Bedrock scoring table. The score starts at 110 and subtracts the weight of every requirement not met.

In Rev. 3

Rev. 2 is what your contract requires today. A standing DoD class deviation keeps Rev. 2 in force; NIST has published Rev. 3, but it is not adopted for contracts. In Rev. 3 this requirement is reworded: 03.01.12 Remote Access.

See the Rev. 2 and Rev. 3 wording word by word, or start with the status page.

Where this page's facts come from

Requirement text: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.basicRequirement@rev2
Discussion: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.discussion@rev2
Practice name: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.title@rev2 (CMMC Assessment Guide practice name)
Objectives: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2
Examine, interview, test: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2 ({examineGuidance, interviewGuidance, testGuidance})
Level: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/021_fix_level1_requirements.sql#Requirement.cmmcLevel@rev2
Weight: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:internal/cmmc/requirement_values.go#requirementValues (DoD AM v1.2.1 / eMASS L2 template v3.8)
Rev. 3 mapping: bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:docs/reference/nist-800-171-rev3/normalized/r2_r3_transition_map.json#r2_to_r3
Plain-language title and summary: editorial/CMMC Navigator.dc.html#RAW (Foxx Cyber editorial)