• 12 chapters

    10 requirements, plus an Overview and Wrap-Up

  • 59 short lessons

    Understand, implement, then assess and prove

  • 25 videos

    Narrated, 3 to 5 minutes each

  • About 2 hours

    Self-paced, with 12 months of access

  • 1 workbook

    Your Planning rows, filled in as you go

  • Certificate

    Pass the final assessment at 80%. Earn 2.75 CPE

Control the connections, encrypt the CUI, contain the rest

System and Communications Protection is where your network and your encryption meet the requirements. Its 10 active requirements break into 28 determination statements in SP 800-171A, and 4 of those are organization-defined parameters, including the cryptography you use to protect CUI. Six Revision 2 requirements are now withdrawn, so an old Revision 2 mapping won't line up one to one.

This course takes every requirement through the same three steps. First you learn what it asks for and the risk behind it. Then you see a practical way to put it in place that fits your environment. Last, you learn how it gets assessed and what evidence proves it. A running case, Harbor Point Machining (a fictional company), shows each step on a system that looks like yours.

By the end, you'll be able to

  • Explain what each System and Communications Protection requirement asks for and the risk it addresses

  • Set the family's 4 organization-defined parameter values and record who approved each one

  • Plan boundary protection, deny-by-default communications, encryption and key management, and limits on shared resources, collaborative devices, and mobile code

  • Choose evidence for each determination statement and spot the gaps that lead to "other than satisfied"

  • Roll up your System and Communications Protection readiness with your top gaps, owners, and dates

Leave with your System and Communications Protection rows filled in, not just notes

In the Overview you'll download the Master Readiness Workbook, the one spreadsheet you'll use across every family course, along with a Control Reference Guide for each of the 10 requirements. Every chapter ends with you recording that requirement's parameter values, evidence, owners, and gaps. In the Wrap-Up you roll the family up into one readiness view, with your top three gaps and an owner and date for each. Use sanitized descriptions only, and never enter CUI. The workbook is a working record. It moves the work forward, but it isn't proof of compliance.

Course curriculum

    1. System and Communications Protection Overview | Family Overview

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. System and Communications Protection Overview | Your Downloads

    1. 03.13.01 | Control Reference Guide

    2. 03.13.01 | Lesson 1: Understand the Requirement

    3. 03.13.01 | Lesson 2: Implement the Requirement

    4. 03.13.01 | Lesson 3: Assess and Prove the Requirement

    5. 03.13.01 | Knowledge Check

    6. 03.13.01 | Requirement Summary

    1. 03.13.04 | Control Reference Guide

    2. 03.13.04 | Lesson 1: Understand and Implement the Requirement

    3. 03.13.04 | Lesson 2: Assess and Prove the Requirement

    4. 03.13.04 | Knowledge Check

    5. 03.13.04 | Requirement Summary

    1. 03.13.06 | Control Reference Guide

    2. 03.13.06 | Lesson 1: Understand and Implement the Requirement

    3. 03.13.06 | Lesson 2: Assess and Prove the Requirement

    4. 03.13.06 | Knowledge Check

    5. 03.13.06 | Requirement Summary

    1. 03.13.08 | Control Reference Guide

    2. 03.13.08 | Lesson 1: Understand the Requirement

    3. 03.13.08 | Lesson 2: Implement the Requirement

    4. 03.13.08 | Lesson 3: Assess and Prove the Requirement

    5. 03.13.08 | Knowledge Check

    6. 03.13.08 | Requirement Summary

    1. 03.13.09 | Control Reference Guide

    2. 03.13.09 | Lesson 1: Understand and Implement the Requirement

    3. 03.13.09 | Lesson 2: Assess and Prove the Requirement

    4. 03.13.09 | Knowledge Check

    5. 03.13.09 | Requirement Summary

About this course

  • $199.00

Everything in the course, for 12 months

One payment covers all 10 System and Communications Protection requirement chapters, a Control Reference Guide for each requirement, the Master Readiness Workbook, the final assessment, and your certificate. Work at your own pace, with 12 months of access.

People responsible for putting NIST SP 800-171 Identification and Authentication requirements in place at federal contractors that handle CUI. We recommend taking NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 Foundations first.

  • Compliance leads

    Who own the boundary and encryption decisions and the evidence behind them.

  • IT and security staff

    Who run firewalls, encryption, and the network itself.

  • Consultants and MSPs

    Who design and manage network and encryption controls for clients.

  • Managers

    Who approve exceptions and the cryptography the company relies on.

Instructor

Brian Hubbard

Lead CCA

Brian Hubbard is President of Evolved Cyber and has more than 40 years of cybersecurity experience supporting federal contractors, the defense community, and the intelligence community. A Lead Certified CMMC Assessor and CMMC instructor, he has led certification assessments and helped organizations prepare to demonstrate how their security programs work in practice. Brian also contributed to the original NIST Cybersecurity Framework. In this course, he brings that experience to NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3, helping leaders understand its implications for governance, systems, documentation, suppliers, and assessment readiness.

FAQ

  • Do I need to take Foundations first?

    It's recommended, not required. Foundations teaches the method for reading Revision 3 requirements, parameters, and assessment objectives that every family course builds on.

  • Which requirements and values apply to my organization?

    The agreements that cover your system determine which requirements and parameter values apply. The course shows you how to find and record them.

  • Is the certificate a professional certification?

    No. It confirms you completed this course and passed its final assessment, and it states the 2.75 CPE hours you earned.

  • Can I enter real system details in the workbook?

    Use sanitized descriptions only. Never put CUI in the workbook.

  • How long do I have access?

    12 months from the day you enroll.

  • Is this course part of a bundle?

    Yes. System and Communications Protection is in the Technical Safeguards bundle ($999) and Complete Control Mastery ($1,495). Every bundle includes Foundations.

One requirement at a time, from reading it to proving it.

Fifteen minutes or less per requirement, and every one ends with something real in your workbook.

Enroll Now