NIST Special Publication 800-171 Revision 2

Date Published: January 28th, 2021

Withdrawn on May 14, 2024. Superseded by SP 800-171 Rev. 3

Author(s): Ron Ross (NIST), Victoria Pillitteri (NIST), Kelley Dempsey (NIST), Mark Riddle (NARA), Gary Guissanie (IDA)

Note: A Class Deviation is in effect as of May 2, 2024 (DEVIATION 2024O0013). The deviation clause requires contractors, who are subject to 252.204-7012, to comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 Revision 2, instead of the version of NIST SP 800-171 in effect at the time the solicitation is issued or as authorized by the contracting officer. Click Here

3.1.13 Employ cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions.

Control Family: Access Control

Control Type: Derived

SPRS Value: 5

SPRS Supplemental Guidance:

Do not subtract points if remote access not permitted

CMMC Level(s): AC.L2-3.1.13

Top Ten Failed Requirement: No

DIBCAC HIGH Failure Rate (OTS):

93rd of 110

Referenced in:

DFARS 252.204-7012

Derived From: NIST SP 800-53r4

AC-17(2)

NIST Supplemental Guidance:

  • NIST SP 800-46

  • NIST SP 800-77

  • NIST SP 800-113

CSF v1.1:

  • PR.DS-2

  • PR.DS-5

NIST 800-171 Control 3.1.13 MITRE ATT&CK 14.1 Sunburst

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.1.13 → MITRE ATT&CK 14.1

Mapping note: MITRE ATT&CK 14.1 techniques are derived through the NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4 controls mapped to each NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 requirement.

Summary

  • Total mappings: 75
  • Families: 1
  • Outer ring: Technique ID + name
  • MITRE ATT&CK version: 14.1

Family counts

  • Remote Access: 75 techniques

Usage notes

  • Click a family or technique to zoom in.
  • Click the center to zoom back out.
  • Hover to view technique details.

Discussion:

Cryptographic standards include FIPS-validated cryptography and NSA-approved cryptography. See [NIST CRYPTO]; [NIST CAVP]; [NIST CMVP]; National Security Agency Cryptographic Standards.

Determining Statements (NIST SP 800-171Ar2)

Upon assessment, assessors must determine if-

3.1.13[a] cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access
sessions are identified.
3.1.13[b] cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access
sessions are implemented.

Assessors are instructed to-

Examine: [SELECT FROM: Access control policy; procedures addressing remote access to the system; system security plan; system design documentation; system configuration settings and associated documentation; cryptographic mechanisms and associated configuration documentation; system audit logs and records; other relevant documents or records].

Interview: [SELECT FROM: System or network administrators; personnel with information security responsibilities; system developers].

Test: [SELECT FROM: Cryptographic mechanisms protecting remote access sessions]

FURTHER DISCUSSION

A remote access session involves logging into the organization’s systems such as its internal network or a cloud service provider from a remote location such as home or an alternate work site. Because the use of cryptography in this requirement is to protect the confidentiality of CUI, the cryptography used must meet the criteria specified in requirement SC.L2-3.13.11. Although not explicitly required to meet AC.L2-3.1.13 requirements, this remote access session must be secured using FIPS-validated cryptography to provide confidentiality and prevent anyone from deciphering session information exchanges.

This requirement, AC.L2-3.1.13, requires the use of cryptographic mechanisms when enabling remote sessions and complements five other requirements dealing with remote access (AC.L2-3.1.12, AC.L2-3.1.14, 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.L2-3.1.14 limits remote access to specific access control points.

  • 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 responsible for implementing a remote network access capability for users who access CUI remotely. In order to provide session confidentiality, you decide to implement a VPN mechanism and select a product that has completed FIPS 140 validation [a,b].

Potential Assessment Considerations

  • Are cryptographic mechanisms used for remote access sessions (e.g., Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) using FIPS-validated encryption algorithms) defined and implemented [a,b]? Note that simply using an approved algorithm is not sufficient – the module (software and/or hardware) used to implement the algorithm must be separately validated under FIPS 140.

ISO/IEC 27001:2013

No direct mapping

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.1.13 → MITRE ATT&CK
MITRE ATT&CK v14.1

NIST SP 800-171r2 Control 3.1.13 → MITRE ATT&CK

Total Mappings

75
technique references

Families

1
Remote Access

Control

3.1.13
AC.L2-3.1.13

Remote Access 75 techniques

  • T1020.001Traffic Duplication
  • T1021Remote Services
  • T1021.001Remote Desktop Protocol
  • T1021.002SMB/Windows Admin Shares
  • T1021.003Distributed Component Object Model
  • T1021.004SSH
  • T1021.005VNC
  • T1021.006Windows Remote Management
  • T1037Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts
  • T1037.001Logon Script (Windows)
  • T1040Network Sniffing
  • T1047Windows Management Instrumentation
  • T1059Command and Scripting Interpreter
  • T1059.001PowerShell
  • T1059.002AppleScript
  • T1059.003Windows Command Shell
  • T1059.004Unix Shell
  • T1059.005Visual Basic
  • T1059.006Python
  • T1059.007JavaScript
  • T1059.008Network Device CLI
  • T1070Indicator Removal on Host
  • T1070.001Clear Windows Event Logs
  • T1070.002Clear Linux or Mac System Logs
  • T1070.008Clear Mailbox Data
  • T1114Email Collection
  • T1114.001Local Email Collection
  • T1114.002Remote Email Collection
  • T1114.003Email Forwarding Rule
  • T1119Automated Collection
  • T1133External Remote Services
  • T1137Office Application Startup
  • T1137.002Office Test
  • T1213Data from Information Repositories
  • T1213.001Confluence
  • T1213.002Sharepoint
  • T1219Remote Access Software
  • T1505.004IIS Components
  • T1505.005Terminal Services DLL
  • T1530Data from Cloud Storage Object
  • T1537Transfer Data to Cloud Account
  • T1543Create or Modify System Process
  • T1543.003Windows Service
  • T1543.004Launch Daemon
  • T1547.003Time Providers
  • T1547.004Winlogon Helper DLL
  • T1547.009Shortcut Modification
  • T1547.012Print Processors
  • T1547.013XDG Autostart Entries
  • T1550.001Application Access Token
  • T1552Unsecured Credentials
  • T1552.002Credentials in Registry
  • T1552.004Private Keys
  • T1552.007Container API
  • T1557Adversary-in-the-Middle
  • T1557.002ARP Cache Poisoning
  • T1558Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets
  • T1558.002Silver Ticket
  • T1558.003Kerberoasting
  • T1558.004AS-REP Roasting
  • T1563Remote Service Session Hijacking
  • T1563.001SSH Hijacking
  • T1563.002RDP Hijacking
  • T1565Data Manipulation
  • T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation
  • T1565.002Transmitted Data Manipulation
  • T1602Data from Configuration Repository
  • T1602.001SNMP (MIB Dump)
  • T1602.002Network Device Configuration Dump
  • T1609Container Administration Command
  • T1610Deploy Container
  • T1612Build Image on Host
  • T1613Container and Resource Discovery
  • T1619Cloud Storage Object Discovery
  • T1647Plist File Modification

Frameworks & Controls