We’re living in the digital age where data is incredibly easy to collect. You purchase an item from an e-commerce store and pay with your credit card. Before you know it, the retailer begins to bombard you with mobile or email notifications of its ongoing offers.
The ease with which companies collect and mine data from unwary clients explains the rising cases of cyberattacks. Cybercriminals have devised craftier ways to breach data repositories and steal massive volumes of information, which they use to further their criminal enterprises.
Therefore, every responsible company or organization must safeguard the data it collects from its clients. That’s where the NIST 800-171 protocol comes in.
Read below as we unpack what NIST 800-171 means for businesses.
What Is NIST 800-171?
Data collection is legal in most jurisdictions, provided data collectors adhere to the relevant privacy laws. However, all gathered information must be stored under hacker-proof locks, especially if it pertains to controlled unclassified information, commonly abbreviated as CUI.
Against that backdrop, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed the NIST 800-171 protocol.
NIST 800-171 standardizes and regulates how federal contractors handle CUI. The protocol was developed in 2003 to safeguard CUI data from cybersecurity threats.
Every company or organization that deals directly with federal agencies, such as military equipment suppliers, must have proper NIST 800-171 policy templates in place. These protocols help to safeguard sensitive data that’s not necessarily classified.
More About CUI
According to the United States, Controlled Unclassified Information is information that’s neither classified under the amended Executive Order 13526 nor the Atomic Energy Act but must be safeguarded and disseminated according to the applicable laws of the land.
While CUI is unclassified data, its sensitive nature makes handling it imperative. Examples of such information include legal governments, blueprints, and email attachments.
Almost every bit of CUI is related directly to the federal government. Such information could compromise the country’s interests, particularly security and trade.
As hinted, businesses that provide direct military services, such as Department of Defense (DoD) combat equipment suppliers, have CUI in their systems. Others include suppliers that hold government contracts tied to one or more of the following services;
- Legal and law enforcement
- Natural and cultural resources
- Financial products
- Critical infrastructure
- Export and immigration services
- International agreements
- Nuclear services
- Transportation
- Procurement and acquisition
- Privacy and statistical services
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) services
- Proprietary business information
- Provisional services
Achieving NIST 800-171 Compliance
After determining that your business handles some form of CUI, the next step is to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology 800-171 protocol.
Below is a quick step to ensure NIST 800-171 compliance in your organization;
1. Locate CUI Data
Go through your company’s data repositories to locate any CUI data. We’ve already highlighted what such information constitutes.
A good place to start is to establish if your organization maintains a contract with the federal government. Pay particular attention to any direct engagements with the DoD, Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
2. Establish a Controls Guideline
After locating CUI in your systems, establish a mechanism for controlling such information.
Start by educating your staffers on the significance of protecting CUI data.
Then, develop a methodology for accessing the sensitive information. You may need to assign access privileges on a need-to-know basis.
This is also the point where you’d set up a more secure storage location. Cloud storage provides better data protection by keeping your information off-site and encrypted.
3. Regularly Assess the Controls
Cybercriminals are getting smarter by the day. Even after establishing robust security measures for the CUI in your systems, you’ll still need to conduct regular tests.
Routine tests will help you uncover potential areas for breach and seal them before attacks occur. They also ensure the security protocols in place are helping you achieve compliance.
There’s no standard frequency with which you should test your CUI security measures. One way to keep up with the assessments is to incorporate powerful artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cybersecurity software that provide round-the-clock threat deterrence.
What Are The Consequences Of Non-Compliance?
The adage “ignorance is no defense” doesn’t apply only within the corridors of justice. It also holds when it comes to enforcing regulatory compliance.
There are stringent penalties for NIST 800-171 non-compliance.
For starters, failure to comply with NIST 800-171 may cause you to lose a lucrative state contract. In many cases, the termination will come without a fair warning.
NIST 800-171 non-compliance could also ruin your reputation. For high-flying organizations with an image to protect, one instance of non-compliance is all it takes to trigger a major publicity nightmare.
However, perhaps the biggest repercussion of NIST 800-171 non-compliance is having criminal charges imposed against you. If found guilty, you could pay hefty fines and lose your contract.
Wrap Up
Keeping up with NIST 800-171 may sound complicated and overwhelming for some organizations. However, all state contractors are obligated to comply with the protocol, failure to which your company may suffer far-reaching consequences.
The easiest way to implement NIST 800-171 is to have a proper template in place. Be sure to educate your employees on the significance of complying with this data safety standard.
Alternatively, you could seek professional help from a legal practitioner or policy expert to ensure a smooth NIST 800-171 compliance.