If your firm is a government contractor working with the U.S. Department of Defense, or works anywhere in the DoD supply chain, brace for big changes in the cybersecurity requirements your business will need to meet. By 2026, the Defense Department will require its contractors to comply with new cybersecurity standards known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification — CMMC, for short.

In 2013, the U.S. President, Barack Obama, passed an order to boost cybersecurity. The order required the development of a risk-based cybersecurity framework for managing cybersecurity risks for essential infrastructure services. A framework was later developed through an international partnership between small and large businesses spearheaded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Here is a look at the NIST Cybersecurity framework and why it is essential.

The NIST 800-53 standard offers solid guidance for how organizations should select and maintain customized security and privacy controls for their information systems. NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 is one of many compliance documents you need to familiarize yourself with if you are working with information technology. This post breaks it down for you into digestible pieces that emphasize the standard’s practical meaning and application.

The report is based on an analysis of more than 18,000 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) logged to NIST’s National Vulnerability Database in 2020. It reveals that well over half (57%) were rated ‘high’ or ‘critical’ severity – the highest recorded figure for any year to date. Our analysis also looks beyond severity scores, detailing the rise of low complexity vulnerabilities as well as those which require no user interaction to exploit.

In the digital age, organizations and the missions and business processes they support rely on information technology and information systems to achieve their mission and business objectives. Not only is technology used to efficiently enable businesses to carry out operational activities, but it is also the backbone for the United States’ critical infrastructure.

Over the last few years, the idea of patching systems to correct flaws has graduated from an annoying business disruption to a top priority. With all of the notorious vulnerabilities that can wreak total havoc, the time it takes to patch becomes a minor inconvenience when weighed against both the technical challenges and possible regulatory penalties of not patching.

As an infosec professional, you’ve likely heard of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Since NIST Cybersecurity Framework is the best solution for better prevention, detection, and response to cybersecurity incidents, various organizations have adopted it to safeguard their IT assets. The 2019 SANS OT/ICS Cybersecurity Survey spells out the NIST CSF as the number one cybersecurity framework in use today. However, it is imperative to consider that how should we comply with NIST CSF in 2020 and beyond? Here is some help!