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Withdrawn on May 14, 2024. Superseded by SP 800-171 Rev. 3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

3.14.2: Provide protection from malicious code at designated locations within organizational systems.

Control Family: System and Information Integrity

Control Type: Basic

SPRS Value: 5

SPRS Supplemental Guidance: N/A

CMMC Level(s):

  • SI.L1-b.1.xii

  • SI.L2-3.14.2

Top Ten Failed Requirement:

No

Referenced in:

DFARS 252.204-7012

Derived From: NIST SP 800-53r4

  • SI-2

  • SI-3

  • SI-5

NIST Supplemental Guidance:

  • [SP 800-83]

Discussion:

Designated locations include system entry and exit points which may include firewalls, remoteaccess servers, workstations, electronic mail servers, web servers, proxy servers, notebook computers, and mobile devices. Malicious code includes viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and spyware. Malicious code can be encoded in various formats (e.g., UUENCODE, Unicode), contained within compressed or hidden files, or hidden in files using techniques such as steganography. Malicious code can be inserted into systems in a variety of ways including web accesses, electronic mail, electronic mail attachments, and portable storage devices. Malicious code insertions occur through the exploitation of system vulnerabilities.

Malicious code protection mechanisms include anti-virus signature definitions and reputationbased technologies. A variety of technologies and methods exist to limit or eliminate the effects of malicious code. Pervasive configuration management and comprehensive software integrity controls may be effective in preventing execution of unauthorized code. In addition to commercial off-the-shelf software, malicious code may also be present in custom-built software. This could include logic bombs, back doors, and other types of cyber-attacks that could affect organizational missions/business functions. Traditional malicious code protection mechanisms cannot always detect such code. In these situations, organizations rely instead on other safeguards including secure coding practices, configuration management and control, trusted procurement processes, and monitoring practices to help ensure that software does not perform functions other than the functions intended.

[SP 800-83] provides guidance on malware incident prevention.

Upon assessment, assessors must determine if-

3.14.2[a] designated locations for malicious code protection are identified.
3.14.2[b] protection from malicious code at designated locations is provided.

Assessors are instructed to-

Examine: [SELECT FROM: System and information integrity policy; configuration management policy and procedures; procedures addressing malicious code protection; records of malicious code protection updates; malicious code protection mechanisms; system security plan; system configuration settings and associated documentation; record of actions initiated by malicious code protection mechanisms in response to malicious code detection; scan results from malicious code protection mechanisms; system design documentation; system audit logs and records; other relevant documents or records].

Interview: Interview: [SELECT FROM: System or network administrators; personnel with information security responsibilities; personnel installing, configuring, and maintaining the system; personnel with responsibility for malicious code protection; personnel with configuration management responsibility].

Test: [SELECT FROM: Organizational processes for employing, updating, and configuring malicious code protection mechanisms; organizational process for addressing false positives and resulting potential impact; mechanisms supporting or implementing employing, updating, and configuring malicious code protection mechanisms; mechanisms supporting or implementing malicious code scanning and subsequent actions].

FURTHER DISCUSSION

A designated location may be a network device such as a firewall or an end user’s computer. Malicious code, which can be delivered by a range of means (e.g., email, removable media, or websites), includes the following:

  • virus – program designed to damage, steal information, change data, send email, show messages, or any combination of these things;

  • spyware – program designed to gather information about a person’s activity in secret when they click on a link, usually installed without the person knowing ;

  • trojan horse – type of malware made to look like legitimate software and used by cyber criminals to get access to a company’s systems; and

  • ransomware – type of malware that threatens to publish the victim’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid.

Use anti-malware tools to stop or lessen the impact of malicious code.

Example

You are buying a new computer and want to protect your company’s information from viruses, spyware, etc. You buy and install anti-malware software [a,b].

Potential Assessment Considerations

  • Are system components (e.g., workstations, servers, email gateways, mobile devices) for which malicious code protection must be provided identified and documented [a]?