BSI C5:2020 PSS-10 — Software Defined Networking

What this control requires

Ensures SDN functions maintain data confidentiality, validating new or modified features for defects. Mitigates risks per assessment, protecting cloud customer data in SDN environments from unauthorized access or configuration errors.

In plain English

Ensures SDN functions maintain data confidentiality, validating new or modified features for defects. In practice, this means you can prove you security - configuration-level controls on a defined cadence.

Why it matters

BSI C5 is the default cloud-security baseline German public-sector buyers and many DAX-listed enterprises expect; gaps here directly block procurement in the DACH region and frequently appear as must-have items in EU public-tender documents.

This control is rated high. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

What an auditor looks for

A C5 attesting auditor (under ISAE 3000 / IDW PS 860) tests both the design and — for a Type 2 — the operating effectiveness over the attestation period. For each criterion they look for both the Basic and any in-scope Additional objectives.

Within Platform & Service Security, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion PSS-10) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

How to implement

Cloud Posture

CSPM. Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold.

Configuration Management

Policy-as-code. Codify the control as Service Control Policies (AWS), Azure Policy initiatives, or Organisation Policy (GCP) so the platform enforces what the document promises.

IaC. Gate Terraform / Pulumi / CloudFormation changes with Checkov / tfsec / OPA so misconfigurations never reach production.

Drift. Run a CSPM (Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center) over every account and route findings to a single risk register.

Network Security

AWS. VPC Flow Logs to S3, default-deny security groups, AWS Network Firewall for north-south, and Transit Gateway for hub-and-spoke segmentation.

Azure. NSGs with deny-by-default, Azure Firewall Premium with TLS inspection, Private Endpoints for PaaS, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud's secure score for drift.

GCP. VPC Service Controls perimeters around sensitive APIs, Cloud NGFW Enterprise for L7 inspection, Private Service Connect for managed services.

Operational checklist

• Security. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Confidentiality. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Data. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Access. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Software. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Scope: - configuration, cloud customer data, environments, management.

Evidence to collect

• Infra Scan. Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings.

Infrastructure posture tooling (AWS Config, Azure Policy, Nessus) verifies platform hardening. Focus: Software Defined Networking.

Common pitfalls

• Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why.
• Manual cloud-console changes that never make it back to Terraform — drift accumulates until the next outage forces a reconciliation.
• Default-allow egress rules; East-West traffic with no segmentation; jump hosts on the public internet with password auth.
• Scans that hit only the perimeter; missing authenticated scans of OS, runtime libs and base images so most CVEs are invisible.

How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

• NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.4.6 — Least Functionality
• NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AC-20(4) — Network Accessible Storage Devices -- Prohibited Use
• CIS Controls v8 14.8 — Train Workforce on the Dangers of Connecting to and Transmitting Enterprise Data Over Insecure Networks
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.34 — Privacy and protection of personal identifiable information (PII)
• GDPR Article 25 — Data protection by design and by default

Related controls in BSI C5:2020

• Criterion PSS-11 — Images for Virtual Machines and Containers
• Criterion COM-04 — Information on information security performance and management assessment of the ISMS
• Criterion COS-06 — Segregation of data traffic in jointly used network environments
• Criterion COS-04 — Cross-network access
• Criterion INQ-01 — Legal Assessment of Investigative Inquiries
• Criterion COM-03 — Internal audits of the information security management system

References

• Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) — BSI C5:2020
• Catalogue identifier: Criterion PSS-10

Topics: network securitycloud infrastructurecloud postureconfiguration managementvulnerability management