CIS Controls v8 13.9 — Deploy Port-Level Access Control

What this control requires

Deploy port-level access control. Port-level access control utilizes 802.1x, or similar network access control protocols, such as certificates, and may incorporate user and/or device authentication.

In plain English

Deploy port-level access control. In practice, this means you can prove you deploy network-level controls on a defined cadence.

Why it matters

The CIS Controls are an industry-vetted, prioritised defence: skipping a safeguard widens the attack surface that the safeguards above and below it assume is closed. Audit frameworks (FedRAMP, PCI DSS, HIPAA) all cite CIS as evidence of due care.

What an auditor looks for

A CIS-aligned reviewer wants to see (a) which Implementation Group you are targeting, (b) a documented owner for the safeguard, and (c) a tooling or process artefact (config, scan output, ticket) that proves the safeguard runs on the cadence the control demands.

Within Protect, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control 13.9) 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.

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

• Deploy. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Protect. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Scope: network, user, access control, port-level access control, certificates, incorporate user, device authentication, identity management.

Evidence to collect

• Infra Scan. Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings.
• Identity Scan. IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in.

Infrastructure posture tooling (AWS Config, Azure Policy, Nessus) verifies platform hardening. Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Deploy Port-Level Access Control.

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.
• Default-allow egress rules; East-West traffic with no segmentation; jump hosts on the public internet with password auth.

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 800-53 Rev. 5 IA-4(4) — Identify User Status
• NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.1.11 — Session Termination
• BSI C5:2020 PS-04 — Physical site access control
• ISO/IEC 27701:2025 A.3.8 — Identity management

Related controls in CIS Controls v8

• Control 12.5 — Centralize Network Authentication, Authorization, and Auditing (AAA)
• Control 6.4 — Require MFA for Remote Network Access
• Control 3.3 — Configure Data Access Control Lists
• Control 12.7 — Ensure Remote Devices Utilize a VPN and are Connecting to an Enterprise's AAA Infrastructure
• Control 6.7 — Centralize Access Control
• Control 6.8 — Define and Maintain Role-Based Access Control

References

• Center for Internet Security — CIS Controls v8
• Catalogue identifier: Control 13.9

Topics: identity accessnetwork securitycloud postureidentity managementaccess review