Network Security Policy

Control 12 Control 13
Applicable Safeguards: 12.1 12.2 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6

1. Purpose

Establish requirements for securing [ORGANIZATION]'s network infrastructure, ensuring proper segmentation, monitoring, and defense against network-based threats.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all network infrastructure, communication links, and network services managed by or on behalf of [ORGANIZATION], including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.

3. Policy

3.1 Network Architecture

3.1.1

[ORGANIZATION]'s network shall be designed and maintained with defense-in-depth principles, incorporating: network segmentation between zones of different trust levels, demilitarized zones (DMZ) for internet-facing services, restricted management networks for administrative access, and isolated networks for sensitive systems (PCI, healthcare, etc.).

3.1.2

Network architecture diagrams shall be maintained and updated within [CUSTOMIZE: 30 days] of any significant network change.

3.1.3

All traffic between network segments of different trust levels shall pass through a firewall or equivalent security control.

3.2 Network Access Control

3.2.1

Access to [ORGANIZATION]'s network shall require authentication and authorization.

3.2.2

Wireless networks shall use WPA3 (or WPA2 Enterprise minimum) with certificate-based authentication for corporate access.

3.2.3

Guest network access shall be isolated from internal networks with no route to internal resources.

3.2.4

Network access control (NAC) solutions shall be deployed to verify device compliance before granting network access where technically feasible.

3.2.5

VPN connections shall require MFA and shall terminate only to authorized, managed devices.

3.3 Network Monitoring and Defense

3.3.1

Intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) shall be deployed at network perimeters and at key internal network boundaries.

3.3.2

IDS/IPS signatures shall be updated at least [CUSTOMIZE: daily/weekly].

3.3.3

Network traffic shall be monitored for anomalous patterns including: unusual data volumes, connections to known malicious destinations, lateral movement indicators, and command-and-control traffic patterns.

3.3.4

DNS traffic shall be monitored and filtered to detect and block communication with malicious domains.

3.3.5

All network security events shall be forwarded to the centralized SIEM for correlation and analysis.

4. Compliance

4.1

Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all personnel within its scope. Compliance will be monitored through periodic audits, automated controls, and management review.

4.2

Exceptions to this policy must be documented with a business justification, approved by [CUSTOMIZE: CISO/Security Team], and reviewed at least annually.

5. Enforcement

5.1

Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or contract, and may result in civil or criminal penalties where applicable law has been violated.

5.2

[ORGANIZATION] reserves the right to audit compliance with this policy at any time, with or without notice.

6. Review and Revision

6.1

This policy shall be reviewed at least annually by [CUSTOMIZE: CISO/Policy Owner] and updated as necessary to reflect changes in the threat landscape, regulatory requirements, or organizational structure.

6.2

All revisions shall be documented with version number, date, author, and description of changes.

Policy Approval

Approved By

[CUSTOMIZE]

Title

[CUSTOMIZE]

Date

[CUSTOMIZE]

Document Control

Version: [CUSTOMIZE: 1.0]
Effective Date: [CUSTOMIZE]
Last Reviewed: [CUSTOMIZE]
Next Review: [CUSTOMIZE]
Classification: Internal