What this requirement asks
Employ cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions.
This is a CMMC Level 2 requirement in the Access Control family, drawn from NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2. An assessor evaluates it objective by objective — every objective below must be supported by evidence, not just described in a policy.
Assessment objectives (2)
- 3.1.13[a] — cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions are identified
- 3.1.13[b] — cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions are implemented
What an assessor examines
Examine:
- Access control policy
- procedures addressing remote access to the system
- system security plan
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- cryptographic mechanisms and associated configuration documentation
- system audit logs and records
- other relevant documents or records
Interview:
- System or network administrators
- personnel with information security responsibilities
- system developers
Test:
- Cryptographic mechanisms protecting remote access sessions
Evidence that defends it
Show VPN/TLS settings; scan results proving no weak ciphers
Check your readiness
Score this requirement against your own environment with the Level 2 self-assessment checklist, or estimate your SPRS score with the free CMMC compliance tool. Self-reported answers are planning signals only — they do not establish a verified or assessor-accepted result.