Nuclear Command & Control (NC3) Assurance Check

Principal workflows

• Baseline: Configuration managers record the approved software and configuration baseline for each system, and the approving authority signs it off under two-person control before checks use it.
• Check: Collectors read software, file and configuration state from each system on a schedule or on demand, without changing anything, and compare it with the signed baseline.
• Link health: Results from your existing monitoring systems and from operator-run test procedures are brought together so the status of each communication path is recorded in one place.
• Resolve: Every difference becomes a discrepancy that is investigated, explained and closed by a person, with the evidence kept.

Who uses it

• System owners and operations centers responsible for critical command and communication systems
• Configuration managers who maintain approved baselines
• Information system security managers and officers
• Authorizing officials and approving authorities who sign off baselines
• Inspectors and auditors who review integrity and configuration evidence

Reporting

• Assurance status for every system and path
• Unverified systems and overdue tests
• Open discrepancies by cause and age
• Baseline register with preparers, verifiers and approvers
• Link health history by path
• Evidence packages for inspection and authorization reviews

Features

• Signed baselines: Approved software and configuration baselines held as data, with who prepared, verified and approved each version.
• Software integrity checks: Installed software versions and file hashes compared with the approved baseline on every check.
• Configuration checks: Settings compared with the approved baseline and with applicable STIG settings, with each difference listed.
• Read-only collection: Collectors read state from systems and never change it; the product has no ability to send commands to the systems it checks.
• Unverified is not passing: A system that could not be reached or fully read is shown as unverified, so a gap in checking is never mistaken for a pass.
• Link health record: Status from your monitoring systems and results of operator test procedures, brought together for each communication path.
• Discrepancy management: Every difference tracked from detection to closure, with investigation notes, cause and approval.
• Two-person control: Baseline changes and discrepancy closures need a second person, and nobody approves their own work.
• Change correlation: Differences linked to authorized change records, so expected changes are explained and unexplained ones stand out.
• Pre-activity checks: On-demand checks before an exercise, maintenance window or critical activity, with the result recorded for the record.
• Signed results: Check results are digitally signed when recorded, so later alteration can be detected.
• Evidence packages: Baselines, check history, discrepancies and closures assembled for an inspection or authorization review.

Integrations

• Read-only collectors: Collectors installed in your environment read software inventories, file hashes and settings using accounts with read-only rights that your administrators create.
• Network and link monitoring: Status feeds from the monitoring systems you already operate, received through the interfaces they provide.
• Configuration management database: System inventory and authorized change records from your configuration management and change control tools.
• STIG and benchmark content: Applicable STIG content imported in standard SCAP formats, so configuration checks can include required settings.
• Security monitoring: Discrepancies and suspected tampering events sent to your security monitoring or incident system.
• Identity and access: Staff sign in through your identity provider with CAC, PIV or your multi-factor policy.
• Software bill of materials: Component lists from Moraph's Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) Watchtower or your own SBOM tool can inform baselines.

Deployment

• Your environment: Installed in your own environment, including networks operated under your authority, with Moraph providing software and support as you allow.
• Disconnected installation: For isolated networks, updates and content are delivered as signed packages for your staff to verify and transfer.
• Unclassified evaluation: A Moraph-hosted evaluation environment in the United States region, using fictional systems and data only.

Security and privacy

• Single sign-on: Staff sign in through your identity provider with CAC, PIV or your multi-factor policy.
• Role-based access: What each person sees and does follows their role and their sites; preparing, verifying and approving a baseline are separate.
• Append-only audit trail: Every check, view, decision and export is logged with the person and time, and records cannot be edited or deleted.
• Encryption and keys: Data is encrypted, with keys Moraph staff cannot use without explicit, time-bound authorization.
• Cleared US-person support: Support tickets for defense and intelligence clients are handled only by Moraph staff who are US citizens with active clearances.
• Your environment only: Operational use runs in your environment under your authority; Moraph hosting, in the United States region, is limited to unclassified evaluation with fictional data.

Limitations

• It verifies; it does not control. It cannot send commands to, reconfigure or repair the systems it checks.
• No check can prove a system is uncompromised. The product compares systems with their approved baseline and records what it finds; a baseline that is itself wrong will not be detected.
• It checks only what its collectors are permitted to read. Components without a readable interface must be verified by your own procedures, and their results recorded.
• Link health depends on your existing monitoring systems and test procedures; the product records their results and does not test links itself.
• Moraph does not claim accreditation or an authorization to operate for the product. Moraph maps controls and supports your own assessment and authorization.
• Operation on classified networks takes place in your environment, under your authority and accreditation. Moraph does not hold your operational data.
• Decisions about discrepancies, escalation and response belong to your personnel and procedures.
• Remediation is out of scope; differences are fixed through your own change and maintenance processes.

Next steps

Book a demonstration or a technical briefing at www.moraph.com/solutions/nuclear-command-and-control-nc3-assurance-check. Purchasing routes and company information: www.moraph.com/how-to-buy.