If you are looking to stay in compliance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard 800-171 (Data Loss Prevention) when you use Microsoft Office 365, you need to be sure you’re taking all the necessary precautions. Here are some of the best practices you can use to make sure you’re doing everything you can to prevent data loss.
Origins of the standard
NIST Special Publication 800-171 was created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to help non-federal organizations protect their Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). It is a companion to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which lays out best practices for protecting sensitive federal information.
There are many reasons to be compliant with NIST 800-171. You can reduce the risks associated with insider threats and data breaches. You can also ensure that you have a scalable approach to your cybersecurity. In addition, you can protect personally identifiable information, such as social security numbers, from hackers.
For contractors and small businesses, compliance with NIST 800-171 is a legal requirement. However, not all of the requirements are straightforward. If you are a contractor providing services to the Department of Defense (DoD) or a non-DoD organization, you will need to take advantage of a gap analysis to ensure that you are on the right track.
The requirements in NIST SP 800-171 focus on the primary access control requirements for an organization. This includes authentication and identification processes. Organizations must also conduct a system review to identify gaps and potential vulnerabilities.
One of the most important requirements in NIST SP 800-171 is the ability to identify threats, including malicious code, to an information system. Similarly, NIST 800-53 contains requirements for incident response. These include the ability to detect and respond to incidents, as well as the processes to report them to the government.
Although these are not the only requirements in NIST SP 800-171, they do form the foundation for the other controls. The other required controls are the System and Information Integrity requirements and the Personnel Security requirements.
The System and Information Integrity requirements are simple for most organizations. They require that you identify all possible indicators that an attacker could exploit and then take appropriate steps to block them. A technical implementation of these requirements can be challenging for on-premises environments.
Finally, the Personnel Security requirements are the smallest family in the NIST 800-171 document. This family requires that you have a process in place for revocation of access upon termination.
Defense contractors’ compliance with the standard
NIST 800-171 is a set of cybersecurity guidelines designed to help organizations that process or store US government Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) maintain a secure IT environment. It’s designed to prevent information leaks and unauthorized access. If your company is involved in defense or other federal contracts, it may be important to learn more about the requirements. The Scarlett Group can provide you with the guidance you need to meet the requirements.
Controlled Unclassified Information can include patents, personal information, and technical data. While it’s not classified, it does pose a threat to national security. In order to protect CUI, your organization will need to implement NIST 800-171 compliance.
Achieving compliance with this standard requires a multi-pronged approach. Your organization will need to ensure that you’re implementing all of the requirements and that you have a good plan in place to monitor your progress. Without proper cybersecurity controls in place, you’re at risk of losing your contract or reputation.
The first step is to generate a System Security Plan. This will include an overview of your IT network, including hardware, software, and security policies. Creating a SSP will allow you to identify and address any gaps. You will then need to submit it to the Department of Defense (DoD). Depending on the type of contract you’re working on, you’ll have to submit a Plan of Actions and Milestones to demonstrate your full compliance.
Next, you’ll need to assess your organization’s compliance with NIST 800-171. This can be done with the help of an outside consultant. However, you’ll also need to do your own self-assessment. Use the Certification Assistant to help you develop a self-guided platform for your assessment.
You’ll want to assess your organization’s implementation of CMMC 2.0. CMMC is a new standard for assessing and certifying an organization’s level of cybersecurity maturity. When fully implemented, CMMC will affect about 300,000 organizations across the country. CMMC will replace NIST 800-171 and is expected to be in place by 2025.
In addition to ensuring that you meet all of the NIST 800-171 requirements, you’ll need to consider the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). The CMMC is a unified standard that defines an approximate cybersecurity posture for an organization. CMMC requires you to undergo third-party assessments of your organization’s adherence to mandatory cybersecurity practices.
Organizing areas of Data Loss Prevention solutions
If you are planning to use Microsoft 365, you will need to ensure your company has NIST 800-171 compliance. The NIST 800-171 document outlines security requirements for nonfederal information systems. This document has been updated to address changes in technology and to keep up with evolving threats.
There are 110 requirements in the document. They are grouped into 14 families and general security topics. Some of these requirements include access control, incident response, and configuration management. These security requirements help protect your organization from insider threats.
There are three steps in the process of ensuring your company is NIST 800-171 compliant. First, you will need to understand what this document is and what it requires. Next, you will need to assess your needs and create an action plan. Finally, you will need to implement these procedures.
You will need to identify which sensitive data your organization handles and then implement policies to protect it. To help with this, you can use a data loss prevention solution. Using these solutions will allow you to define which sensitive information you handle and will help you find it within hundreds of file types.
Using a DLP solution can also help you identify and secure sensitive data in cases of loss or theft. For example, if your company has sensitive data on USB drives, enforced USB encryption can keep it safe from unauthorized use.
In addition to identifying and protecting sensitive data, a DLP solution can also prevent data breaches by keeping your company compliant with legislation. For example, if your organization uses HIPAA privacy rules, it can be a good idea to invest in a solution that offers regular expression scanning. It can also scan predefined content to detect sensitive information.
Another way to make sure your company is NIST 800-171 compliant is to take advantage of the CSP program. As part of the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, Microsoft provides a set of services that help your company meet NIST SP 800-171 requirements.
You can learn more about the CSP program from the Microsoft CSP Guide.
Best practices for NIST compliance
If you’re a business that works with the US government, or you provide products to federal agencies, you may be required to comply with NIST security mandates. Getting certified can help you secure your company and make it more resilient to cyber attacks.
NIST compliance is designed to help businesses secure their infrastructure and protect sensitive information. It gives clients confidence that their data is protected, and shows responsibility for the information you share. This can be important to your organization’s ability to compete in the market. You’ll also find that you can qualify for more government contracts, which can open up new opportunities.
The first step in achieving NIST compliance is to evaluate your company’s current security posture. This helps you determine which changes need to be made. It also helps you plan your defenses for vulnerabilities that currently exist. For example, you might want to implement stronger physical security measures, or develop more internal processes to manage sensitive information.
Once you’ve determined that you need to implement changes to your infrastructure, you’ll need to develop an implementation plan. Your plan will outline the steps you’ll take to comply with the NIST Framework. Each step will require input from various teams. Identifying roles and responsibilities for each stage will help you make sure you’re ready to tackle each challenge.
You’ll need to decide how you’ll measure your progress and set budgets and resources for each stage. An implementation plan will also give you a roadmap to follow. Depending on your business’ size and current security measures, the cost of achieving NIST compliance can vary.
NIST compliance helps you demonstrate that you’re willing to invest in the best security procedures to safeguard your company. By implementing these standards, you’ll lower the risk of regulatory fines, and can help your business recover from cyberattacks.
Companies that adopt the NIST framework can improve their continuity in the event of a cyber attack, and they can improve their chances of winning government contracts. They can also increase their ability to respond quickly in the event of a successful breach.