AC-17(1)_monitoring-and-control

AC-17(1) Monitoring and Control

Enhancement of: AC-17

High-Level Description

Family: Access Control (AC) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Monitoring and control of remote access methods allows organizations to detect attacks and help ensure compliance with remote access policies by auditing the connection activities of remote users on a variety of system components, including servers, notebook computers, workstations, smart phones, and tablets. Audit logging for remote access is enforced by AU-2 . Audit events are defined in AU-2a.

What to Check

• Verify AC-17(1) Monitoring and Control is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for AC-17(1)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control AC-17

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for AC-17(1) implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

Step 2: Validate Implementation

# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null

Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

Tools

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Employ automated mechanisms to monitor and control remote access methods.

Implementation Guidance

Monitoring and control of remote access methods allows organizations to detect attacks and help ensure compliance with remote access policies by auditing the connection activities of remote users on a variety of system components, including servers, notebook computers, workstations, smart phones, and tablets. Audit logging for remote access is enforced by AU-2 . Audit events are defined in AU-2a.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - AC-17(1)
• NIST SP 800-53A Rev 5 (Assessment Procedures)
• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 Full Catalog

Checklist

• Control documented in SSP
• Implementation evidence collected
• Operating effectiveness validated
• Continuous monitoring in place
• Related controls (AU-2, AU-6, AU-12, AU-14) reviewed