Willow A4.9

Are your boundary firewalls configured to allow access to their configuration settings over the internet?

Section A4: Firewalls  ·  Cyber Essentials Willow

What this question is really asking

Confirm whether your firewall's configuration interface is accessible over the internet. The answer should be no for most organisations. Remote management interfaces on firewalls are a significant attack surface and should only be accessible from trusted, defined IP ranges at most.

What satisfies this requirement

Yes or No

Answer No if config settings only accessible via VPN or not externally accessible.

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What to prepare before your assessor visit

The answer here should be no for almost every organisation. If your managed service provider requires remote access to your firewall, that access should go through a VPN or a dedicated management network — not a management interface directly exposed to the internet. An internet-accessible admin portal on a firewall is a significant vulnerability and will draw serious scrutiny.

How this question sits across CE versions

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Are your boundary firewalls configured to allow access to their configuration settings over the internet?
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Are your boundary firewalls configured to allow access to their configuration settings over the internet?
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Are your boundary firewalls configured to allow access to their configuration settings over the internet?

Related policy templates

Getting certified means having documentation to back it up. These policy templates cover the controls this question tests.

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