CPCSC Level 2 Control

Last updated June 25, 2026

03.13.01System and communications protection

CPCSC Level 2 03.13.01: Boundary Protection

Apply boundary protection to protect system boundaries, communications, cryptography, shared resources, and sessions for CPCSC Level 2 readiness. This guide separates the official ITSP.10.171 control language from practical implementation, evidence, auditor questions, and related controls.

Open Level 2 Guide Browse Level 2 Controls

Formal Control Language

Official ITSP.10.171 wording for 03.13.01. Use the Cyber Centre publication and contract requirements as the source of truth for certification, assessment, or procurement submissions.

  • Monitor and control communications at the external managed interfaces to the system and key internal managed interfaces within the system
  • Implement subnetworks for publicly accessible system components that are physically or logically separated from internal networks
  • Connect to external systems only through managed interfaces consisting of boundary protection devices arranged in accordance with an organizational security architecture

Contains information sourced from Government of Canada material used under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

What This Means In Plain English

Boundary Protection is part of the CPCSC Level 2 System and communications protection family. This is about protecting how systems communicate: boundaries, encryption, shared resources, collaborative tools, mobile code, and session integrity.

For a founder, CISO, engineer, or compliance owner, the practical question is whether boundary protection is visible in real operating evidence: a setting, workflow, ticket, log, approval, review, or exception record that can survive an external assessment.

Level 2 is different from Level 1 because the evidence has to survive an external assessment. A policy statement helps, but the stronger answer is a record that shows who did the work, when it ran, what system setting or workflow enforced it, and how exceptions were handled.

How To Implement It

1

Define the in-scope systems, owners, users, vendors, and data flows affected by boundary protection.

2

Document architecture, enforce boundary rules, protect data in transit and storage, manage cryptography, and restrict risky communication paths.

3

Translate the formal requirement into one or two operating procedures: who performs it, how often, where it is recorded, and who approves exceptions.

4

Configure the relevant systems so the control is enforced by identity, endpoint, cloud, network, ticketing, monitoring, vendor, or documentation workflows rather than memory.

5

Keep evidence in a consistent folder, GRC system, ticket queue, or audit workspace so an assessor can trace the control from requirement to implementation to review.

Evidence Normally Gathered

Boundary Protection: network architecture diagram.

Boundary Protection: firewall or security group rules.

Boundary Protection: encryption settings.

Boundary Protection: key management records.

Boundary Protection: session controls.

Boundary Protection: collaboration tool settings.

Boundary Protection: owner assignment and review cadence.

Boundary Protection: exception, remediation, or POA&M records when the control is not fully implemented.

Common Auditor Questions

Where is boundary protection implemented in the in-scope environment?

Who owns boundary protection, and how do they know it is operating?

Show the evidence that proves boundary protection ran during the assessment period.

What happens when boundary protection fails, is bypassed, or has an exception?

How does this control connect to the system security plan, risk register, POA&M, and related CPCSC controls?

Sources

Source and attribution.

Formal control language is sourced from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security ITSP.10.171 publication. CPCSC Level 2 assessment context references the Government of Canada CPCSC program overview and ITSP.10.171-01 assessment guidance.

CPCSC Program OverviewITSP.10.171ITSP.10.171-01Open Government Licence - Canada