grundschutz-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that makes the German BSI IT-Grundschutz++ compendium queryable for AI agents and ISMS tooling. Instead of pasting requirements into prompts or letting a model guess from stale training data, agents query the exact, current requirement text from the official BSI source, addressable by ID.

Disclaimer: This is an independent, community project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by the BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik). It only makes the BSI's publicly released, machine-readable data accessible over MCP.

Why

Compliance work breaks when an AI hallucinates requirements that never existed. This server removes that failure mode:

• Correct. Every requirement is traceable to a real BSI ID, not to training data.
• Current. Data is loaded from a pinned commit of the official BSI repository; updates flow to every agent without prompt changes.
• Token-efficient. Agents fetch only the few requirements a step needs, not the whole compendium.
• Reusable. One implementation, usable by any MCP client (your own audit pipeline, Claude Code, ISMS tools).

Note on language: The technical surface (tool names, parameters, errors) is English. The content this server returns, the BSI requirement texts, stays in the German original and is never translated. Translating security requirements would lose the precision compliance work depends on.

Quick start

Add the server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add grundschutz -- uvx grundschutz-mcp

Or configure it manually in your MCP client (STDIO transport):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grundschutz": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["grundschutz-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

Each requirement carries its German text and guidance, its module, a security_level (normal-SdT / erhöht), an effort_level (0–5), tags, and its related / required cross-references. Requirement texts are the original German wording from the BSI source.

Usage examples

Once the server is connected, an agent answers questions by calling these tools. Every answer is the exact BSI wording, traceable to the pinned source — no guessing from training data. (Examples below are illustrative snapshots from the pinned BSI version; run get_catalog_metadata for the live state.)

Explore the catalogue

"Which modules does Grundschutz++ cover?" → list_modules → e.g. ARCH.2 — Netzdesign (6 requirements), GC.1 — Grundlagen (2), … one ModuleSummary per Baustein.

Fetch a specific requirement

"What does GC.1.1 require?" → get_requirement_by_id("GC.1.1") → "Governance und Compliance MUSS Verfahren und Regelungen zur Errichtung und Aufrechterhaltung eines ISMS nach BSI Grundschutz++ verankern." (security_level: normal-SdT, effort_level: 0), plus its German guidance.

Work through a module

"List the requirements in GC.2." → list_requirements_by_module("GC.2") → GC.2.1 Festlegung des externen Kontextes, GC.2.2 Festlegung des internen Kontextes — each with its security level and effort score for prioritisation.

Search the content

"What does Grundschutz say about Verschlüsselung?" → search_requirements("Verschlüsselung") → matches such as DLS.2.2 Transportverschlüsselung, DLS.2.3 Vollverschlüsselung, SENS.2.3 Verschlüsselung und Signatur. Searches titles, texts, and tags.

Follow cross-references

"What is related to GC.2.1?" → get_cross_references("related") → GC.2.1 → GC.2.2. Use get_cross_references("required") for prerequisite requirements, then get_requirements_by_ids([...]) to pull the referenced requirements in a single call.

Scope by risk and effort

"Which 'erhöht' requirements in GC.1 are quick wins?" → filter_requirements(module="GC.1", security_level="erhöht", max_effort=2) → the matching requirements, sorted by id. Criteria combine with AND; effort uses min_effort/max_effort as an inclusive band.

Get an overview

"How is the catalogue distributed, and which tags exist?" → get_catalog_stats → totals and counts by security_level, by effort_level (0–5), and by tag (the tag list doubles as tag discovery for filter_requirements).

Check provenance

"How current is the data, and where is it from?" → get_catalog_metadata → the requirement count, BSI source repository, the exact pinned commit, and the data license (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Data source and license

• Source: BSI-Bund/Stand-der-Technik-Bibliothek, pinned to a specific commit.
• Format: OSCAL (a NIST standard), serialized as JSON.
• Data license: the BSI data is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. This server loads it at runtime and passes it through unmodified, so the BSI's attribution and share-alike terms apply to the data. See NOTICE.
• Code license: the server code is Apache 2.0. See LICENSE.

Design notes

The server does not bind its tools directly to the raw OSCAL structure. A single mapping layer translates OSCAL into a small internal model; the tools work only against that model. When the BSI changes its format, only the mapper changes, not the tools. A CI schema test surfaces format drift loudly instead of returning silently wrong data, and a periodic drift monitor reports when the upstream BSI data has moved beyond the pinned commit.

Security

This is a security-adjacent tool, so supply-chain integrity matters. Releases are versioned (SemVer) and signed; dependencies are pinned. To report a vulnerability, see SECURITY.md.

Maintainer

Maintained by Samuel Blickle, who advises organizations on information security and compliance (samuelblickle.de). This is an independent open-source project (see the disclaimer above). Contributions are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Code under Apache 2.0. BSI data under CC BY-SA 4.0 (attribution in NOTICE).