The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a US government agency that develops standards and guidelines for cybersecurity and technology. The purpose of these guidelines is to protect sensitive information, especially for those companies working with the government.

On August 13th, 2024, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the first three cryptographic standards designed to resist an attack from quantum computers: ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA. This announcement marks a significant milestone for ensuring that today’s communications remain secure in a future world where large-scale quantum computers are a reality.

NIST has long been an important acronym in the world of cybersecurity, where organizations have for years used the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to help guide their security investments. But the practices and controls associated with NIST have evolved recently, due to the release of NIST 2.0. If you’re stuck in the era of NIST 1.x, it’s time to adapt.

When you consider national and global cybersecurity, a handful of names stand out. Two of the largest are NIST and ISO/IEC. Both of these organizations have issued plenty of rulings and frameworks for securing digital systems, and in a sense, they can be viewed as competitors. So, what’s the difference, where is the overlap, and which option is right for your business?

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is a widely used set of guidelines for mitigating organizational cybersecurity risks. It contains recommendations and standards to help organizations identify and detect cyberattacks and advice on how to respond, prevent, and recover from cybersecurity incidents.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helps organizations implement best practices across their operations, including cybersecurity. In particular, NIST password guidelines outlines are considered the gold standard for solid password creation and management policies.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s widely used Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF) provides organizations with a common language that allows staff at all levels—and at all points in a supply chain—to develop a shared understanding of their cybersecurity capability.

Ten years ago, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 1.0 following an Executive Order from President Obama to help companies and governments facing cybersecurity attacks. In 2014, data breaches were escalating. Major Fortune 500 companies and household names, such as Target, Yahoo, 7-11, Visa, and more, experienced heaps of customer data theft, online fraud and attacks from malware.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, safeguarding critical data from unauthorized access is paramount. Our recent webinar, “Shut the Front Door,” provided invaluable insights aimed at business leaders, operations executives, and IT managers within the government contracting community, emphasizing the necessity of robust access control measures and adherence to regulations like the FAR, DFARS, and NIST 800-171.