SC-7(4)—Boundary Protection | External Telecommunications Services
IL4 Mod
IL4 High
IL5
IL6
>Control Description
(a) Implement a managed interface for each external telecommunication service;
(b) Establish a traffic flow policy for each managed interface;
(c) Protect the confidentiality and integrity of the information being transmitted across each interface;
(d) Document each exception to the traffic flow policy with a supporting mission or business need and duration of that need;
(e) Review exceptions to the traffic flow policy ⚙organization-defined frequency and remove exceptions that are no longer supported by an explicit mission or business need;
(f) Prevent unauthorized exchange of control plane traffic with external networks;
(g) Publish information to enable remote networks to detect unauthorized control plane traffic from internal networks; and
(h) Filter unauthorized control plane traffic from external networks.
>DoD Impact Level Requirements
FedRAMP Parameter Values
SC-7 (4) (e) [at least every ninety (90) days or whenever there is a change in the threat environment that warrants a review of the exceptions]
>Discussion
External telecommunications services can provide data and/or voice communications services. Examples of control plane traffic include Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing, Domain Name System (DNS), and management protocols. See SP 800-189 for additional information on the use of the resource public key infrastructure (RPKI) to protect BGP routes and detect unauthorized BGP announcements.
>Programmatic Queries
Beta
Related Services
AWS Direct Connect
VPN
AWS PrivateLink
CLI Commands
Create AWS Direct Connect connection for secure telecommunications
aws directconnect create-connection --location LOCATION --bandwidth 10Gbps --connection-name secure-telecom-connectionSetup VPN connection for encrypted external telecommunications
aws ec2 create-vpn-connection --type ipsec.1 --customer-gateway-id cgw-12345678 --vpn-gateway-id vgw-87654321Enable AWS PrivateLink for secure service access over external networks
aws ec2 create-vpc-endpoint --vpc-id vpc-12345678 --service-name com.amazonaws.us-east-1.s3 --route-table-ids rtb-12345678Configure VPN connection monitoring and logging
aws ec2 create-flow-logs --resource-type VpnConnection --resource-ids vpn-12345678 --traffic-type ALL --log-destination-type cloud-watch-logs --log-group-name /aws/vpn/logs>Related Controls
>Assessment Interview Topics
Questions assessors commonly ask
Process & Governance:
- •What policies govern the implementation of external telecommunications services?
- •How are system and communications protection requirements defined and maintained?
- •Who is responsible for configuring and maintaining the security controls specified in SC-7(4)?
Technical Implementation:
- •How is external telecommunications services technically implemented in your environment?
- •What systems, tools, or configurations enforce this protection requirement?
- •How do you ensure that external telecommunications services remains effective as the system evolves?
- •What network boundary protections are in place (firewalls, gateways, etc.)?
Evidence & Documentation:
- •What documentation demonstrates the implementation of SC-7(4)?
- •Can you provide configuration evidence or system diagrams showing this protection control?
- •What logs or monitoring data verify that this control is functioning correctly?
- •Can you provide network architecture diagrams and firewall rulesets?
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