Using the NIST framework, ThoughtLab recently concluded a cybersecurity benchmark study that spanned across industries, including telecommunications. There is an urgent call to action for organizations to think and implement cybersecurity processes and technologies more strategically. The study shed some positive light for telecom companies as compared to peer industries.

NIST stands for National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST was founded in 1901 and is a part of the U.S Department of Commerce. It is one of the oldest physical science laboratories in the US and was formed to remove challenges related to industrial competitiveness.

Some standards, guidelines, and best practices to meet the industrial, public, and federal agencies’ needs in Cybersecurity are developed by NIST. The cybersecurity framework by NIST has an outcome-based approach and this set it to be applied in any sector and on any size of business. There are three basic pillars of the NIST cybersecurity framework, namely; The framework core has five major functions.

In November 2010, the White House came up with the EO or Executive Order 13556. The order helped in establishing a uniform and open program across Defense and Civilian agencies for the management of information requiring dissemination or protection of controls with Government-wide regulations, laws, and policies.

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.