Mapped to NIST 800-171 Requirement: 3.4.6
CMMC Assessment Objective: CM.L2-3.4.6[b]
What This Objective Means
While CM.L2-3.4.6[a] focuses on the capability to identify unauthorized changes, this objective verifies that your technical tools and configurations are actively monitoring for those changes.
This includes the use of:
• File integrity monitoring (FIM)
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems
• System configuration management platforms
• Baseline comparison scripts or alerts
• Cloud configuration monitoring tools
These tools must be enabled, tested, and aligned with your defined baseline to effectively detect unauthorized changes.
Why It Matters
Without system-level detection:
• Critical configuration changes could occur without your knowledge
• Baselines and security hardening may be silently bypassed
• You may fail to notice changes that impact CUI protection, triggering audit failures or real breaches
This control ensures detection isn’t manual or reactive—it’s automated and enforced.
How to Implement It
• Configure detection mechanisms on:
◦ Workstations and servers
◦ Security appliances (e.g., firewalls)
◦ Cloud systems and SaaS platforms
• Monitor:
◦ OS and registry settings
◦ Installed software and services
◦ User accounts and permissions
◦ Network configurations
• Integrate with your SIEM, ticketing, or alerting tools for rapid response
• Test detection by simulating unauthorized changes (if possible)
Evidence the Assessor Will Look For
• Screenshots or exports from tools configured to detect unauthorized system changes
• Alert configuration rules or policies defining what triggers an alert
• Logs showing unauthorized or unplanned changes were detected and flagged
• Documentation of the monitoring tools used and their scope
Common Gaps
• No tooling deployed to detect configuration changes
• Monitoring only detects activity, not configuration integrity
• Logs exist, but alerts are not generated or reviewed
How Cuick Trac Helps
Cuick Trac supports this requirement by:
• Enforcing hardened, monitored system configurations by default
• Logging and alerting on any changes to critical settings or roles
• Preventing unapproved configuration modifications via access control
• Providing tools to compare current state to baseline and report deviations
With Cuick Trac, unauthorized changes don’t go unnoticed—they’re flagged, logged, and addressed fast.
Final CTA
Without detection, unauthorized changes are just silent vulnerabilities.
Schedule a Cuick Trac demo and make configuration change detection part of your real-time defense.