# CIS 6.3 — Require MFA for Externally-Exposed Applications

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_gen_cis_63_1b2bc5ae5b-cis-63-require-mfa-for-externally-exposed-applications
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [AWS Checks New Version](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112673) › [Protect](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_gen_62000112673_protect)
- Last updated: 2026-05-30
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

CIS · Control 6.3 · Priority: critical · Component: Protect

### What this control covers

Require all externally-exposed enterprise or third-party applications to enforce MFA, where supported. Enforcing MFA through a directory service or SSO provider is a satisfactory implementation of this Safeguard.

### Why it matters

Identity is the new perimeter — most breaches start with a stolen credential or over-privileged account, so this control is one of the single highest-leverage items you can implement.

### How to implement

#### AWS

Use **IAM Identity Center** (formerly AWS SSO) as the single source of truth for human access; back it with your corporate IdP via SAML/SCIM. Avoid IAM users for people — they don't get MFA-by-default, rotation, or session lifetimes. For workloads, use **IAM Roles** (assumed by EC2/Lambda/EKS service accounts via IRSA) and never long-lived access keys. Run [IAM Access Analyzer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access-analyzer.html) weekly to surface unused access and external-account exposure.

#### Azure

Centralize identity on **Microsoft Entra ID** (formerly Azure AD). Require **Conditional Access** policies: MFA for all admin roles, block legacy auth, location/device gating. Use **Privileged Identity Management (PIM)** to make admin roles just-in-time and time-bound. For Azure resources, prefer **Managed Identities** over service principals with secrets.

#### GCP

Use **Cloud Identity** (or Workspace) as the IdP and **IAM** for resource access. Grant roles at the lowest scope (project > folder > org) using **Workload Identity Federation** for CI/CD and **service accounts** for workloads — never download service-account keys when avoidable. Enable **Policy Intelligence** recommenders to right-size privileges and detect dormant identities.

#### Google Workspace

Enforce **2-Step Verification** (preferably hardware keys for admins) for the entire org, set session length to ≤ 12 hours, and disable less-secure-app access. Use **Context-Aware Access** levels to restrict admin sign-in by IP/device posture. Provision and de-provision users via **SCIM** from your HRIS so leavers lose access on day one.

#### GitHub

Require **SSO + SCIM** from your IdP on the organisation; enforce **2FA** org-wide and use **fine-grained PATs** (or, better, GitHub Apps) instead of classic tokens. Restrict **outside collaborators**, require signed commits on protected branches, and use **OIDC** from Actions to short-lived AWS/GCP/Azure credentials rather than stored secrets.

#### Zoho Mail

Make **two-factor authentication** mandatory for all users (TOTP, OneAuth, or YubiKey) in _Admin Console → Security_. Configure **SAML SSO** against your IdP and disable password-based logins for admins. Use **role-based privileges** (Admin / Spam Moderator / Mail Account Admin) and review the _Login history_ report monthly for anomalies.

### Evidence to collect

-   `identity_scan` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.
-   `vendor_risk_management` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.

Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Third-party risk management evidence (assessments, contracts, due diligence) shows supplier oversight. Focus: Require MFA for Externally-Exposed Applications.

### Quick checklist

-   Enforce — Applications / Service
-   Require — Applications / Service
-   Protect — Applications / Service

### Related articles on this site

-   [Ensure Access Review is Set Up for External Users in Azure AD Privileged Identity Management (PIM](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000229788-ensure-access-review-is-set-up-for-external-users-in-azure-ad-privileged-identity-management-pim)
-   [EFS Access Points Should Enforce a User Identity](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233320-efs-access-points-should-enforce-a-user-identity)
-   [Ensure EFS Access Points Should Enforce a Root Directory](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233490--ensure-efs-access-points-should-enforce-a-root-directory)
-   [Ensure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Using a RADIUS Server is Enabled in Directory Service](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233537-ensure-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-using-a-radius-server-is-enabled-in-directory-service)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.