CMMC Level 2

Control 3.14.6

Monitor Inbound and Outbound Communications for Attacks

CMMC-RP Certified Team 24+ Years Experience CMMC-AB RPO #1449

Official Requirement

Monitor organizational information systems, including inbound and outbound communications traffic, to detect attacks and indicators of potential attacks.

What This Means in Plain English

Both incoming and outgoing network traffic must be monitored for signs of attacks. This includes detecting malware callbacks, data exfiltration, command-and-control traffic, and other indicators of compromise.

How Petronella Implements This Control

Petronella Technology Group implements this control through:

  • Arctic Wolf SIEM monitoring all inbound and outbound network traffic for threat indicators
  • FortiGate IPS/IDS analyzing traffic in real-time for attack signatures and anomalies
  • CrowdStrike Falcon monitoring endpoint communications for indicators of compromise
  • DNS monitoring detecting malicious domain lookups and command-and-control communications
  • DLP policies monitoring outbound traffic for unauthorized CUI exfiltration
  • 24/7 SOC monitoring through Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response

Assessment Guidance

Assessors will review network monitoring capabilities and coverage, verify that both inbound and outbound traffic is monitored, test detection of known attack patterns, check that monitoring alerts are investigated, and confirm 24/7 monitoring is in place.

Common Implementation Gaps

  • Only inbound traffic monitored, outbound not analyzed
  • IDS/IPS deployed but alerts not reviewed
  • No monitoring of DNS traffic for malicious domains
  • No DLP monitoring of outbound data flows
  • Monitoring only during business hours, not 24/7

Cross-Framework Mapping

FrameworkMapped Controls
NIST SP 800-53SI-4
PCI DSSReq 11.4 - Use intrusion-detection and/or intrusion-prevention techniques
CP
By Craig Petronella
Founder, Petronella Technology Group | CMMC-RP (RPO #1449) | DFE #604180 | MIT-Certified in AI and Blockchain
Craig has helped North Carolina defense contractors prepare for CMMC assessments since 2002 and authored the CMMC 2.0 Certification Guide. Read the LinkedIn profile or verify the RPO listing at the CyberAB Marketplace.

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