Essential Eight RA-ML2.4 Conduct administrative activities through jump servers
What it says
Administrative activities are conducted through jump servers.
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What it means
In plain EnglishRequire admins to use secure jump servers for management tasks.
This control requires administrators to perform management tasks through a special type of computer called a jump server. Jump servers add a layer of security by acting like a security checkpoint, ensuring that only authorised administrators can access sensitive systems. Without jump servers, an attacker could potentially gain direct access to important parts of the network, leading to data theft or system damage.
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Why it matters
Without jump servers, attackers can exploit direct admin access paths, leading to potential data breaches and network compromise.
How to implement
IT Team: Set up a secure jump server that all administrators must use to access the organisation's main systems.
Configure this server to require strong authentication methods, like two-factor authentication, for logging in.
Security Officer: Ensure that the jump server is secured with proper firewall rules.
Only allow connections from specific administrator devices and block all others to prevent unauthorised access.
System Administrator: Regularly update the jump server with the latest security patches and software updates to protect against vulnerabilities.
IT Support Team: Train all administrators on how to use the jump server correctly, including login procedures and exiting the server after completing their tasks to maintain security.
Keep it running
Review jump server configuration and logs to confirm only authorised admins access it, and that administrative tasks occur via the jump server rather than direct management access.
Evidence and audit
- Check 1 of 2What an auditor asks for
Ask for
Are all administrative activities being conducted through a jump server?
Look at
Check access logs on the jump server to confirm that only authorised administrators have logged in.
Good evidence
Access logs show only authorised access from specific, known administrator accounts, and these accesses align with documented administrative activities.
- Check 2 of 2What an auditor asks for
Ask for
How is the jump server secured against unauthorised access?
Look at
Review firewall configurations and the list of allowed devices that can connect to the jump server.
Good evidence
The firewall settings show restricted access to the jump server, allowing only specific administrator IP addresses.
Mappings
Closest match in ASD Information Security Manual: ISM-1387, Use jump servers for administrative activities, which asks for the same thing.
ISO/IEC 27001: 1 mapping
This control partially meets A.5.15.
Annex A 5.15 requires organisations to establish and implement access control policies and procedures for information and systems. E8-RA-ML2.4 mandates conducting administrative activities through jump servers, which is a specific procedural/architectural control for managing privileged access pathways. The candidate is narrower because it focuses on one method of administering systems rather than comprehensive access control policies spanning all users, systems, and physical/logical access contexts.
ASD Information Security Manual: 6 mappings
This control is equivalent to ISM-1387.
E8-RA-ML2.4 requires administrative activities to be conducted through jump servers to reduce exposure of privileged administration paths. ISM-1387 states the same requirement that administrative activities are conducted through jump servers. Both controls align in intent, scope, and implementation outcome (routing privileged administration via a controlled intermediate host).
This control partially overlaps ISM-0445.
ISM-0445 requires privileged users to use a dedicated privileged account only when performing privileged duties. E8-RA-ML2.4 focuses on the pathway for administration by requiring administrative activities to be conducted through jump servers, which commonly use (and can enforce) separate privileged accounts. ISM-0445 is about account separation, while E8-RA-ML2.4 is about administrative access architecture and does not, by itself, mandate separate accounts.
This control partially overlaps ISM-1898.
E8-RA-ML2.4 requires administrative activities to be conducted through jump servers to control and monitor privileged management access. ISM-1898 requires the use of Secure Admin Workstations (SAWs) to perform administrative activities, which is a related method for securing privileged administration. They overlap in protecting privileged administration sessions, but E8-RA-ML2.4 focuses on the network access path (jump server), while ISM-1898 focuses on the endpoint used to administer systems.
This control supports ISM-1750.
E8-RA-ML2.4 requires administrative activities to be conducted through jump servers as a controlled choke point for privileged management. ISM-1750 requires segregation of administrative infrastructure across critical, high-value and regular servers, which is commonly implemented using separate management networks and dedicated jump server tiers. ISM-1750 strengthens how E8-RA-ML2.4 is implemented by ensuring jump server access and management planes are separated by server criticality, but it is not limited to jump servers.
- ISM-1380Privileged users work in separate privileged and unprivileged operating environmentsDepends on
This control depends on ISM-1380.
ISM-1380 requires privileged users to perform administration in a separate privileged operating environment from their standard user environment. E8-RA-ML2.4 supports ISM-1380 by prescribing jump servers as a controlled pathway for administrative activities, which helps implement and enforce that separate privileged environment. ISM-1380 does not mandate jump servers specifically, and E8-RA-ML2.4 does not necessarily require a fully separate daily-use environment for the user outside the admin pathway.
This control depends on ISM-1899.
ISM-1899 requires that non-administrative devices cannot initiate connections to administrative infrastructure, limiting direct reachability to admin systems. E8-RA-ML2.4 mandates conducting administrative activities through jump servers, which operationalises this separation by concentrating admin access paths through controlled intermediaries. ISM-1899 strengthens the effectiveness of jump servers by preventing bypass paths from standard networks into admin infrastructure.
ASD Essentials for enterprise IT: 1 mapping
- IT.PRO-05.1Restrict administration to dedicated, hardened environments isolated from unprivileged user workloadsPartially overlaps
This control partially overlaps IT.PRO-05.1.
IT.PRO-05.1 requires administration to happen only in dedicated, hardened environments isolated from unprivileged user workloads; E8-RA-ML2.4 requires administrative activities to go through jump servers, one specific way of channelling them through dedicated systems.
Mappings show how controls relate across frameworks. They do not imply full equivalence or certification.