NIST 800-171 3.1.17 (AC.L2-3.1.17): Wireless Protection

Protect wireless access using authentication and encryption.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, requirement 3.1.17

CMMC Level 2 practice AC.L2-3.1.17Published 2026-11-11

What 3.1.17 means in practice

Approved wireless networks require authentication and use encryption, for example WPA2 or WPA3 Enterprise with individual credentials or certificates. An open network, or one shared password for everyone on the network that carries CUI, does not meet it.

SPRS points and the CMMC POA&M

CMMC Level 2 practice: AC.L2-3.1.17
SPRS points: 5 points. When it is not met, the DoD Assessment Methodology subtracts 5 from the score of 110.
CMMC POA&M: Not allowed. It is worth 5 points, and 32 CFR 170.21(a)(2)(ii) admits only requirements worth 1 point, with one exception: 3.13.11 when encryption is used but not FIPS validated.
Scoring note: If the system permits no wireless access, mark Met: Annex A subtracts nothing.

Sources: NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Methodology, version 1.2.1 (June 24, 2020), Annex A; 32 CFR 170.21, Plan of Action and Milestones requirements.

What an assessor checks for 3.1.17

NIST SP 800-171A gives 2 determination statements for 3.1.17, each found satisfied or other than satisfied. Determine if:

3.1.17[a] wireless access to the system is protected using authentication.
3.1.17[b] wireless access to the system is protected using encryption.

NIST SP 800-171A (June 2018), assessment objectives for 3.1.17

Evidence that shows 3.1.17 is met

Wireless controller or access point settings showing the security mode.
The Wi-Fi profiles that device management pushes to devices.
The authentication server configuration, such as RADIUS with certificates.

How PolicyCortex gathers the evidence

PolicyCortex reads this evidence with the collectors below, read only, and grades 3.1.17 from it. Each line says what the product checks.

Microsoft Intune: Device configurations. Reads the Wi-Fi profiles Intune provisions to devices and checks that each one requires authentication and encryption, not an open network or WEP.

Related pages

Calculator: SPRS score calculator: mark 3.1.17 and the other 109 requirements and see the score.
Sample package: Sample package: an SSP, a POA&M and an evidence chain the product generated from demonstration data.
Family: All 22 Access Control requirements (3.1).
Previous: 3.1.16: Wireless Authorization
Next: 3.1.18: Mobile Device Connection
All requirements: All 110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements, by family.

Related records

Guides and articles describe the work. The evidence that work produces is described in three proof pages, the architecture page, and the two pages on authorization.

proof.state: Proof of State. What the environment was, as of a date someone else picks: point-in-time records, content hashed and chained.
proof.change: Proof of Change. Who or what altered the environment, under what authority, with before and after state hashes.
proof.agency: Proof of Agency. What a machine was permitted to do before it acted, what it did, and what would have stopped it.
architecture: Architecture. How the chain is built and where the evidence is stored in each delivery mode.
authorization: Continuous ATO. How an authorizing official's decision is recorded with its package, and how the authorized system is checked against it every hour.
baseline: NIST SP 800-53. The Low, Moderate and High baselines as evidence, with the SSP, SAR and POA&M generated from one record.