What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on SC-7(3) Boundary Protection | Access Points?

System and communications protection policy; Procedures addressing boundary protection; System design documentation; Boundary protection hardware and software; System architecture and configuration documentation; System configuration settings and associated documentation.

What is the most common gap auditors find on SC-7(3)?

External network connections to the system are not inventoried, so their number cannot be limited

NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 · SC - System and Communications Protection

`SC-7(3)` Boundary Protection | Access Points

Limit the number of external network connections to the system.

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, SC-7(3). The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 in the compliance library.

Base controls and their enhancements. Which apply follows the baseline you are assessed against (for example FedRAMP Moderate or High, or the low, moderate and high baselines of SP 800-53B). Text in square brackets is a parameter your organisation sets.

artefacts

held by a system

at each review

hard

to go live

Policy repository / GRC workspace

where the evidence lives

teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

Communications and network traffic monitoring logs · SIEM / log platform

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

System audit records · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Test of Mechanisms implementing boundary protection capabilities; mechanisms limiting the number of external network connections to the system · Cloud console / configuration management

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

System and communications protection policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Procedures addressing boundary protection · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System design documentation · Document repository
Boundary protection hardware and software · Document repository
System architecture and configuration documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System configuration settings and associated documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System security plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your SIEM / log platform on a schedule; put the documents under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

External network connections to the system are not inventoried, so their number cannot be limited
Redundant or undocumented internet connections bypass the approved access points for the system

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

SC-7 Boundary Protection · SC-7(4) Boundary Protection | External Telecommunications Services