DISCUSSION [NIST SP 800-171 R2]
Routing remote access through managed access control points enhances explicit, organizational control over such connections, reducing the susceptibility to unauthorized access to organizational systems resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of CUI.
Further Discussion
The contractor can route all remote access through a limited number of remote access control points to reduce the attack surface and simplify network management. This allows for better monitoring and control of the remote connections.
This practice, AC.L2-3.1.14, limits remote access to specific access control points and complements five other practices dealing with remote access (AC.L2-3.1.12, AC.L2-3.1.13, AC.L2-3.1.15, IA.L2-3.5.3, and MA.L2-3.7.5):
AC.L2-3.1.12 requires the control of remote access sessions.
AC.L2-3.1.13 requires the use of cryptographic mechanisms when enabling remote sessions.
AC.L2-3.1.15 requires authorization for privileged commands executed during a remote session.
IA.L2-3.5.3 requires multifactor authentication for network access to non-privileged accounts.
Finally, MA.L2-3.7.5 requires the addition of multifactor authentication for remote maintenance sessions.
Example
You are a system administrator for a company with many locations, and several employees at different locations need to connect to the organization’s networks while working remotely. Because each company location has a direct connection to headquarters, you decide to route all remote access through the headquarters location [a]. All remote traffic is routed through a single location to simplify monitoring [b].
Potential Considerations
How many managed access control points are implemented [a]?
Is all remote access routed through the managed access control points [b]?
Copyright
Copyright 2020, 2021 Carnegie Mellon University and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC.
Copyright 2021 Futures, Inc.
This material is based upon work funded and supported by the Department of Defense under Contract No. FA8702-15-D-0002 with Carnegie Mellon University for the operation of the Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded research and development center, and under Contract No. HQ0034-13-D-0003 and Contract No. N00024-13-D-6400 with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC, a University Affiliated Research Center.
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