Cisco Unity Connection

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Cisco Unity Connection is a solution for accessing and managing voice messages using a variety of access methods, including email inbox, web browser, Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, Cisco Unified internet protocol (IP) Phone, smartphone, tablet and others. The product is provided as a closed-box Open Virtualization Alliance (OVA) virtual machine. This entry covers the Desktop Edition of this technology and not any mobile versions. Please note that the implementation of mobile technology applications that operate on Mobile Operating Systems must be reviewed and approved by the Mobile Technology and Endpoint Security Engineering Team: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/OITMT/SitePages/MTHome.aspx
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v24.5
Decision Date:	05/06/2024 at 17:36:25 UTC
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Cisco Systems, Inc

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
8.x	12/11/2010		08/31/2017
9.x	07/20/2012	12/28/2016	12/31/2018
10.x	11/01/2013
11.x	06/07/2016
12.x	08/31/2017
14.x	03/29/2021
15.x	10/16/2023

Current Decision Matrix (04/26/2024)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2023

CY2024

CY2025

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

8.x

Unapproved

9.x

Unapproved

10.x

Unapproved

11.x

Unapproved

12.x

Divest
[11, 13, 14, 15, 16]

Unapproved

14.x

Approved w/Constraints
[11, 13, 14, 15, 16]

Approved w/Constraints
[11, 13, 14, 16, 17]

Divest
[11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19]

Unapproved

15.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19]

Decision Constraints


[1]	Due to several NIST security vulnerabilities, product must remain properly patched in order to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities.

[2]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISO can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[3]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[4]	Configuration and deployment standards for Cisco Unity Connection images and their host Server images are defined and maintained by the Core Systems Engineering organization within VA Enterprise Systems Engineering (ESE) and must be followed and adhered to unless an appropriate waiver is granted. Detailed information can be found at the following location: https://vaww.sde.portal.va.gov/svcs/sma/BCM/SitePages/Home.aspx New installations or major expansions of this technology that transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN) must complete a Systems Engineering Design Review (SEDR) (contact VA e-mail: VA IT ESE SEDR SEG) prior to implementation to ensure proper compliance to VA network design and usage requirements.

[5]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[6]	Configuration and deployment standards for Cisco Unity Connection images and their host Server images are defined and maintained by the Infrastructure Engineering Organization (contact OIT ITOPS SD IE Managers) within VA ITOPS Solution Delivery (SD) and must be followed and adhered to unless an appropriate waiver is granted. New installations or major expansions of this technology that transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN) must complete a WAN impact assessment (contact VA e-mail: OIT ITOPS SD Engagement Requests) prior to implementation to ensure proper compliance to VA network design and usage requirements.

[7]	New installations or major expansions of this technology that transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN) must complete a WAN impact review (contact VA e-mail: OIT ITOPS SD Engagement Requests) prior to implementation to ensure proper compliance to VA network design and usage requirements. Version 12.X is not for general production use unless approved via coordination with the IO UCIS Standards Team.

[8]	Version 12.X is not for general production use unless approved via coordination with the IO UCIS Standards Team. Functionality using the Oracle Java Runtime Environment must not be used.

[9]	New installations or major expansions of this technology that transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN) must complete a WAN impact review (contact VA e-mail: [OIT ITOPS SD Engagement Requests]) prior to implementation to ensure proper compliance to VA network design and usage requirements.

[10]	This technology must use the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) - Oracle. Users must ensure that Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and Google Chrome are implemented with VA-approved baselines. (refer to the ‘Category’ tab under ‘Runtime Dependencies’)

[11]	New installations or major expansions of this technology that transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN) must complete a WAN impact review (yourIT Service Portal:[SNOW Service Requests]) prior to implementation to ensure proper compliance to VA network design and usage requirements.

[12]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[13]	This technology must use the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) - Oracle. Users must ensure that Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, and Google Chrome are implemented with VA-approved baselines. (refer to the ‘Category’ tab under ‘Runtime Dependencies’) Users must Divest the use of Internet Explorer with this technology. Other approved internet browsers are available. See Category Tab for details.

[14]	This technology has received one or more VA security bulletins that provide specific guidance on vulnerability patching and mitigation. It is the responsibility of VA system owners to ensure that the appropriate mitigations are taken to address all known and future discovered vulnerabilities with this product. See the Reference tab for more information on security bulletins related to this product.

[15]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[16]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[17]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with both VA Handbook 6500 and VA Directive 6500.

[18]	This technology must use the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) - Oracle. Users must ensure that Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Google Chrome are implemented with VA-approved baselines. (refer to the ‘Category’ tab under ‘Runtime Dependencies’)

[19]	The Federal Information Processing standards (FIPS) 140-2 certification status of this technology was not able to be verified. This technology will require a 3rd party FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 certified solution for any data containing PHI/PII or VA sensitive information, where applicable. More information regarding the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) can be found on the NIST website.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 15.0 is the most current version, released 10/16/2023.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
No components have been identified for this entry.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Collaboration and Electronic Workplace Collaboration Software	Unified Messaging

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

macOS - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Server - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

This is a well-documented technology.
The vendor of this technology is an industry leader in the subject matter.

Adoption Risks

Although this vendor utilizes Federal Information Processing (FIPS) 140-2 encryption, there is no indication based on the vendor documentation or the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) that this technology is Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 certified.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
There are Threat & Assessment Analysis Portal (TAAP) bulletins associated with this technology.
This technology relies on Java Runtime Environment (JRE) - Oracle, which has a rapid release and update schedule.
This technology may transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN).
This technology may be able to store, collect or transmit Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Heath Information (PHI) or other sensitive VA data.
There are known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) associated with this technology. Please see https://nvd.NIST.gov/vuln/search for more details.

Architectural Benefits

This technology is portable as it runs on multiple TRM-approved operating systems.
This technology is compatible with virtual machines, therefore consistent with the enterprise Server Virtualize First Policy (VAIQ 7266972 08-27-2012).

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (04/26/2024)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (04/26/2024)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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