On May 5, 2022, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) formally recognized outside-in third party security ratings and vendor risk assessment in their update to Special Publication 800-161. This update to federal standards specifically cites security ratings as a “foundational capability that "provide 14028." NIST SP 800-161 was designed to standardize supply chain risk management best practices for federal agencies and industry.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a PDF of a cybersecurity self-assessment tool. The Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder v1.1 2019 is a self-assessment tool to help organizations better understand the effectiveness of their cybersecurity risk management efforts.

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) is a federal agency under the responsibility of the US Department of Commerce. Established in 1901 to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness in the US, NIST helps organizations advance measurement science, technology, and standards to improve the quality of life for citizens and enhance economic security.

With the CIA Triad, confidentiality commands much of the attention. Organizations fret over the unauthorized disclosure of their data, so they try to reduce the risks of that type of an incident. In so doing, however, enterprises commonly overlook the other two, integrity in particular. Ron Ross, a fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), thinks it’s a mistake for organizations to forget about integrity.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued special publications focused on improving Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) and Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM). The NIST Cyber Security Framework (NIST CSF) special publication has become a popular option for its unique applicability to all industries with critical infrastructures. NIST CSF isn’t a light read.

To put the impact of cybercrime into perspective, let’s examine some important, and startling, numbers: Data breach costs increased from $3.86 million to $4.24 million in 2021. Every 39 seconds, there is an attack. About 90% of healthcare organizations have fallen victim to at least one breach within the past three years. The bottom line? Cyberattacks are frequent and costly, and COVID-19 has only fueled the fire with more employers adopting a remote work structure.

It was just another day in paradise. Well, it was as close to paradise as working in IT can be. Then, your boss read about another data breach and started asking questions about how well you’re managing security. Unfortunately, while you know you’re doing the day-to-day work, your documentation has fallen by the wayside. As much as people are loathed to admit it, this is where compliance can help.