Wireless access points and bridges must be placed in dedicated subnets outside the enclave's perimeter.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-243224	WLAN-NW-001100	SV-243224r720127_rule		Medium

Description
If an adversary is able to compromise an access point or controller that is directly connected to an enclave network, the adversary can easily surveil and attack other devices from that beachhead. A defense-in-depth approach requires an additional layer of protection between the WLAN and the enclave network. This is particularly important for wireless networks, which may be vulnerable to attack from outside the physical perimeter of the facility or base given the inherent nature of radio communications to penetrate walls, fences, and other physical boundaries. Wireless access points and bridges must not be directly connected to the enclave network. A network device must separate wireless access from other elements of the enclave network. Sites must also comply with the Network Infrastructure STIG configuration requirements for DMZ, VLAN, and VPN configurations, as applicable. Examples of acceptable architectures include placing access points or controllers in a screened subnet (e.g., DMZ separating intranet and wireless network) or dedicated virtual LAN (VLAN) with ACLs.

Description

If an adversary is able to compromise an access point or controller that is directly connected to an enclave network, the adversary can easily surveil and attack other devices from that beachhead. A defense-in-depth approach requires an additional layer of protection between the WLAN and the enclave network. This is particularly important for wireless networks, which may be vulnerable to attack from outside the physical perimeter of the facility or base given the inherent nature of radio communications to penetrate walls, fences, and other physical boundaries. Wireless access points and bridges must not be directly connected to the enclave network. A network device must separate wireless access from other elements of the enclave network. Sites must also comply with the Network Infrastructure STIG configuration requirements for DMZ, VLAN, and VPN configurations, as applicable. Examples of acceptable architectures include placing access points or controllers in a screened subnet (e.g., DMZ separating intranet and wireless network) or dedicated virtual LAN (VLAN) with ACLs.

STIG	Date
Network WLAN AP-NIPR Platform Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-02-13

Details

Check Text ( C-46499r720125_chk )
Review network architecture with the network administrator. 1. Verify compliance by inspecting the site network topology diagrams. 2. Since many network diagrams are not kept up to date, walk through the connections with the network administrator using network management tools or diagnostic commands to verify the diagrams are current. If the site's wireless infrastructure, such as access points and bridges, is not isolated from the enclave network, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-46499r720125_chk )

Review network architecture with the network administrator.

1. Verify compliance by inspecting the site network topology diagrams.
2. Since many network diagrams are not kept up to date, walk through the connections with the network administrator using network management tools or diagnostic commands to verify the diagrams are current.

If the site's wireless infrastructure, such as access points and bridges, is not isolated from the enclave network, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-46456r720126_fix)
Remove wireless network devices with direct connections to an enclave network. If feasible, reconfigure network connections to isolate the WLAN infrastructure from the enclave network, separating them with a firewall or equivalent protection.