As you search the web to better understand how to protect your company’s data, you will likely come across the term NIST or NIST Assessment. But what is NIST, and why is it important? Let’s take a look.
NIST or National Institute of Standards and Technology
NIST is an abbreviation for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce, and it is the oldest physical science laboratory in the United States.
Over the years, NIST has developed and created technology and security policies to better prepare companies to meet the requirements of the Federal Information Security Management Act or FISHMA.
One of the tools created is the NIST Assessment, sometimes called the NIST cybersecurity framework. The framework provides uniform rules, guidelines, and standards for use across various industries. The framework is broken down into five core functions.
What are the NIST Standards (5 Core Functions Framework)
The framework is based on 5 key functions engineered around prevention and reaction to cybersecurity events. It’s designed to be easily understood and define the desired outcomes of managing and reducing cybersecurity risk. The framework is segmented into five key areas:
Identify
Understand how to manage cybersecurity risks to systems, assets, data, and capabilities.
Protect
Implement safeguards to ensure the delivery of critical services.
Detect
Develop methods to identify a cybersecurity event.
Respond
Define what actions to take when a cybersecurity event is detected.
Recover
Identify which services should focus on resilience and restore any capabilities or services impaired due to a cybersecurity incident.
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The Benefits of Compliance
If your business uses the NIST framework, you’re on your way to becoming much more secure as an organization. Understanding the framework shows others that your company takes cybersecurity seriously. Learning never stops, though, so keep current on the latest standards.
Also, if you’re a contractor, subcontractor, or vendor looking to work on federal contracts, your company must be NIST-compliant. This is due to the amount of sensitive data your company may come into contact with.
The Risk of Noncompliance
- Increase your exposure to cybersecurity breaches
- Jeopardize your ability to bid on government contracts
- Harm your corporate reputation
ONE 2 ONE Has Your NIST Compliance Solution
At ONE 2 ONE, we use the NIST Assessment to build our cybersecurity solutions. The first step is conducting a ONE 2 ONE NIST Assessment to identify those critical issues and security risks. This self-assessment walks you through technical, procedural, and organizational questions to document your risk areas, so we can assess and create a plan to eliminate the threats.
ONE 2 ONE wants to ensure you are compliant so you can show your clients that you take data security seriously. Here’s what you can expect during the process:
- Please fill out a form to tell us a little bit about your business and request the NIST Assessment
- Receive a brief follow up call from a ONE 2 ONE rep to set up your NIST Assessment
- Receive a custom playbook for executing the next steps toward filling your security gaps
To get started with your NIST assessment, click the button below.