What this requirement asks
Monitor, control, and protect communications (i.e., information transmitted or received by organizational systems) at the external boundaries and key internal boundaries of organizational systems.
This is a CMMC Level 2 requirement in the System & Communications Protection 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 (8)
- 3.13.1[a] — the external system boundary is defined
- 3.13.1[b] — key internal system boundaries are defined
- 3.13.1[c] — communications are monitored at the external system boundary
- 3.13.1[d] — communications are monitored at key internal boundaries
- 3.13.1[e] — communications are controlled at the external system boundary
- 3.13.1[f] — communications are controlled at key internal boundaries
- 3.13.1[g] — communications are protected at the external system boundary
- 3.13.1[h] — communications are protected at key internal boundaries
What an assessor examines
Examine:
- System and communications protection policy
- procedures addressing boundary protection
- system security plan
- list of key internal boundaries of the system
- system design documentation
- boundary protection hardware and software
- enterprise security architecture documentation
- system audit logs and records
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- other relevant documents or records
Interview:
- System or network administrators
- personnel with information security responsibilities
- system developers
- personnel with boundary protection responsibilities
Test:
- Mechanisms implementing boundary protection capability
Evidence that defends it
Show rules + logs + scan confirmation
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.