NIST, or the National Institute of Standards and Technology has created a framework for small businesses and law firms to use to assess their cyber security vulnerabilities. This NIST Cyber Security Framework helps businesses protect Personal Identifiable Information (PII) and strive to meet various regulations surrounding their online protection. The NIST Cyber Security Framework offers suggestions and activities that businesses can implement so they have best practices in place to keep trail of traffic within the organization, secure access to networks and areas, verify that any applications are secure, continuously access needed updates, possess an incident response process, scan for any vulnerabilities, and build a culture of security within the company as a whole. This NIST Framework is an invaluable tool for businesses across all industries and sizes in order to maintain their customers' trust by providing secure networks and data protection.
The Five Core Functions of the NIST Framework
The core functions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework enable organizations to identify the most important activities in cyber security management.
These five core functions are Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. By determining which assets need protection and how best to protect them, organizations can create a more secure environment for their technology users. The ability to identify threats before they break in is invaluable in protecting data and mitigating further risk. Being able to detect malicious software quickly prevents it from spreading or creating larger problems. A swift response to incidents protects users and systems from additional damage while creating an audit trail that will help when recovering any lost data or services afterwards. Small firms must thoroughly plan out each step so if an incident does occur, systems can get back online quickly while continuing to protect user information and other critical assets.
Implementing the NIST Framework in your business
Implementing the NIST Framework in your business can provide a variety of benefits. It provides organizations with a simple, repeatable, reliable and cost-effective method for managing how they approach aspects like risk management and cybersecurity best practices. Moreover, organizations are given the option to self-implement the framework, meaning that they can select specific elements of it that are relevant to their individual needs. While some measures may be more complex than others and require professional advice, completing straightforward tasks such as ensuring that all employees have awareness training on key topics are easily achievable without specialist knowledge or expertise.
Be Assured using a Risk Assessment based on the NIST framework.
Ensuring your organization is leveraging the latest information security practices should be a top priority. A risk assessment based on the NIST framework provides you with an easy and effective way to identify, assess and address potential risks in your environment. This structured approach offers reliable and repeatable ways to evaluate the current state of your company's security processes, as well as opportunity for regular monitoring and improvement as new vulnerabilities emerge. With a risk-based assessment that is compliant with the NIST guidelines, you can have peace of mind knowing that you are managing risks proactively rather than dealing with the aftermath of an attack.
The NIST Framework is an important tool for small businesses to protect their cybersecurity. It can help you assess your current security posture, identify gaps in your security, and create a plan to address those gaps. Implementing the NIST Framework may seem daunting, but our team of experts are here to help. Maintaining your cybersecurity with the NIST Framework doesn’t have to be difficult; we’ll make sure it fits into your business operations seamlessly. Do you have an Information Security Plan? If not, you can get started using the CySafe Small Firm Cybersecurity Toolkit