The firewall implementation must enforce password encryption for storage.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
SRG-NET-000160-FW-000099	SRG-NET-000160-FW-000099	SRG-NET-000160-FW-000099_rule		Medium

Description
To ensure only the assigned individual is using the account, the account holder must create a strong password that is privately maintained and changed based on the organizationally defined frequency. Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting guessing, dictionary attacks, and brute-force attacks. The firewall can be compromised by personnel with physical access to the communication room. It is imperative for passwords to be stored encrypted, so they cannot be viewed by unauthorized staff. This control applies to passwords configured or controlled by the firewall itself.

Description

To ensure only the assigned individual is using the account, the account holder must create a strong password that is privately maintained and changed based on the organizationally defined frequency. Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting guessing, dictionary attacks, and brute-force attacks. The firewall can be compromised by personnel with physical access to the communication room. It is imperative for passwords to be stored encrypted, so they cannot be viewed by unauthorized staff. This control applies to passwords configured or controlled by the firewall itself.

STIG	Date
Firewall Security Requirements Guide	2012-12-10

Details

Check Text ( C-SRG-NET-000160-FW-000099_chk )
If authentication functionality is provided by the underlying platform's account management system or by a network authentication server rather than the firewall application itself, this is not a finding. Verify the system stores passwords in an encrypted form that is not visible to any system administrators, regardless of privileges. If passwords are stored in clear text, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-SRG-NET-000160-FW-000099_fix)
Configure the system to store passwords in encrypted form.