Being a prime regulatory body for cybersecurity, NIST i.e The National Institute of Standards & Technology interferes with the eligibility of non-federal agencies to get government contracts. Every organization or business is required to comply for the NIST 800 171. The rules & regulations defined by the NIST for the storage & protection of controlled unclassified information (CUI). There are four major areas to focus in order to meet the revised requirements for NIST 800-171 compliance- activity monitoring, access controls, data security setup, & user behaviors. Any negligence to these requirements could encourage data breach.
Things to know about NIST 800-171 compliance
The compliance for NIST 800-171 implies certain rules & regulations that are meant to match the standards for data security. There is a major misconception about the latest rules brought up by NIST as many agencies come up with specific facilities to meet the minimum requirements. However, one must know that the process of attaining a NIST 800-171 compliance is continual & it demands continual monitoring to stay in sync with security arrangements. In other words, a security setup requires regular maintenance to keep up with the mandatory rules & regulations brought under this compliance.
Becoming a NIST 800-171 compliant will make you engage in 4 basic practices & here are they:
Evaluation- In the first phase, you need to analyze the security measures in order to evaluate if they’re favorable & effective as per the NIST 800-171 compliance or not.
Strategic planning- The next step is all about strategizing to apply the new changes & procedures to fill loopholes in the security setup.
Implementation- Once you’ve determined the lags & potential risks, it is time to integrate new systems for improved cybersecurity.
Monitoring- In the final processes, one needs to maintain the security system by continual tracking & monitoring of upgraded systems.
The current NIST compliance process demands businesses to come up with security processes from deep grounds to avoid any potential risks. One may also augment these processes by considering these three necessary options for NIST 800-171 compliance:
Monitor data security setup with regular security assessments & analysis of preventive measures.
Get partnered with independent businesses or vendors for outsourcing the audits & assessment process for compliance.
Implementing strategy for self-management & vendor support
As far as assessment for cybersecurity systems is concerned, there is a need to determine the lags & eliminate them for enhanced security. In this way, you take one step ahead to attain compliance for cybersecurity. Before taking measures to meet requirements for NIST 800-171 compliance, you need to seek assistance from professionals as it won’t let you laid down unnecessary efforts in the process. It simply depends on your approach for getting certification for cybersecurity compliance to get qualified for governmental contracts.
With the advancement in technology, cybersecurity threats have also been increasingly on the rise and many hackers are looking to profit by selling CUI i.e.
This is the reason the Federal government has a vested interest in making sure that the sensitive data handled by the contractor's networks remain safe and secure.
The CUI acts as a roadmap to the plans and operations of the U.S., and in an effort to protect CUI, the Department of Defense (DoD) and other government bodies standardized guidelines laid out in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-717 regulate independent contractors.
The latest Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) relies heavily on the NIST and this is the reason many outfits face compliance deadlines.If you’re someone who wants to know “what is NIST SP 800-717 update and wondering whether you’re company or business really need to comply” then this article is just for you.
As a business owner, if your company holds electronic copies of any sensitive data that is the property of the United States Federal government and if the copies of this data are not identified properly as public then NIST 800-717 applies to you.
If the business purposes electronic copies of the Federal government data you are holding cannot be readily found on a government website, then it is almost considered as the CUI and this data must be protected in accordance with NIST 800-717.What is NIST 800-171 Compliance & Why Is It Important?The latest NIST standards must be met by those companies who stores, processes or transmits the potentially sensitive information for the GSA, DoD or NASA and other state or federal government agencies.
