# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AC-18(5) — Antennas And Transmission Power Levels

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-18-5-antennas-and-transmission-power-levels
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5) › AC — Access Control
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `AC-18(5)`·high·Component: **Access Control**

## What this control requires

> Selects radio antennas and calibrates transmission power to minimize signal reception outside organization-controlled boundaries, reducing unauthorized access via wireless surveys. This control supports the Directional Antenna capability within the Access Control family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control AC-18(5)

### In plain English

Selects radio antennas and calibrates transmission power to minimize signal reception outside organization-controlled boundaries, reducing unauthorized access via wireless surveys. In practice, this means you can prove you access management-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

SP 800-53 is the catalogue every U.S. federal authorisation (FedRAMP, FISMA, CMMC) and most regulated industries point at. A missing control surfaces as a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) item that an Authorizing Official must approve before the Authority To Operate is granted or renewed.

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 3PAO (FedRAMP) or Independent Assessor (NIST RMF) tests against NIST SP 800-53A assessment procedures. For each control they expect a documented implementation that addresses every assessment objective (Examine, Interview, Test) and an implementation summary in the System Security Plan.

Within **Access Control**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control AC-18(5)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

1.  Write a short policy stating intent, scope and named owner.
2.  Encode it as a platform guardrail — SCP, Azure Policy initiative, Organisation Policy, or repository policy.
3.  Wire a monitoring signal that catches drift (CSPM rule, SIEM rule, scheduled query, Workspace alert) and ticket it.
4.  Review on a documented cadence and capture the review in the risk register or compliance tracker.

### Operational checklist

-   **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Wireless.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Antennas.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Access Control.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** management, access control, organization, transmission power levels, controls, identity, review, capability.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Identity Scan.** IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in.

Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Antennas And Transmission Power Levels.

## 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.

-   [**CIS Controls v8 6.7** — Centralize Access Control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/6-7-centralize-access-control)
-   [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.1.7** — Least Privilege - Privileged Functions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-1-7-least-privilege-privileged-functions)
-   [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC6.1** — Logical Access Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc6-1-logical-access-controls)
-   [**BSI C5:2020 PS-04** — Physical site access control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/ps-04-physical-site-access-control)
-   [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.2** — Privileged access rights](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-2-privileged-access-rights)

## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

-   [**Control AC-10** — Concurrent Session Control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-10-concurrent-session-control)
-   [**Control AC-5** — Separation Of Duties](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-5-separation-of-duties)
-   [**Control AC-6(6)** — Privileged Access By Non-Organizational Users](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-6-6-privileged-access-by-non-organizational-users)
-   [**Control AC-3(2)** — Dual Authorization](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-3-2-dual-authorization)
-   [**Control AC-2(4)** — Automated Audit Actions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-2-4-automated-audit-actions)
-   [**Control AC-3(12)** — Assert And Enforce Application Access](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-3-12-assert-and-enforce-application-access)

## References

-   [NIST Computer Security Resource Center — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/risk-management/sp800-53-controls)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Control AC-18(5)`

Topics: identity accessidentity managementaccess reviewprivileged accessenvironmental controls

## Related compliance guidance

- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): Start with the full NIST SP 800-53 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs.
- [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If your obligation is protecting CUI in your own systems for a federal or defence contract, this derived subset — not the full catalogue — is the requirement.
- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most commercial SaaS already hold a SOC 2 Type 2, and FedRAMP 20x Class A is designed for providers that have one.
