SC-7(9)_restrict-threatening-outgoing-communications-traffic

SC-7(9) Restrict Threatening Outgoing Communications Traffic

Enhancement of: SC-7

High-Level Description

Family: System and Communications Protection (SC) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Detecting outgoing communications traffic from internal actions that may pose threats to external systems is known as extrusion detection. Extrusion detection is carried out within the system at managed interfaces. Extrusion detection includes the analysis of incoming and outgoing communications traffic while searching for indications of internal threats to the security of external systems. Internal threats to external systems include traffic indicative of denial-of-service attacks, traffic with spoofed source addresses, and traffic that contains malicious code. Organizations have criteria to determine, update, and manage identified threats related to extrusion detection.

What to Check

• Verify SC-7(9) Restrict Threatening Outgoing Communications Traffic is documented in SSP
• Validate all 2 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for SC-7(9)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control SC-7

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for SC-7(9) 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

Detect and deny outgoing communications traffic posing a threat to external systems; and Audit the identity of internal users associated with denied communications.

Implementation Guidance

Detecting outgoing communications traffic from internal actions that may pose threats to external systems is known as extrusion detection. Extrusion detection is carried out within the system at managed interfaces. Extrusion detection includes the analysis of incoming and outgoing communications traffic while searching for indications of internal threats to the security of external systems. Internal threats to external systems include traffic indicative of denial-of-service attacks, traffic with spoofed source addresses, and traffic that contains malicious code. Organizations have criteria to determine, update, and manage identified threats related to extrusion detection.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - SC-7(9)
• 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, SC-5, SC-38, SC-44) reviewed