What is the NIST Framework?
NIST framework was (established in 2013) to support organizations that worked with critical IT infrastructure. Private companies are quick to adopt NIST Framework as a way to improve their cybersecurity status. The framework has three main components: Core, Implementation Tiers, and Profiles.
Core provides the desired cybersecurity services and results that can easily support your company’s existing cybersecurity function. Core has many functions, categories, and sub-categories that cover a wide range of cybersecurity objectives of any organization. For example, the top five tasks are Identify, Protect, Find, Answer and Find.
A large part of all of these activities, categories, and sub-categories is that they are result-centric and can be tailored to meet specific company needs. After Core, there are Implementation Tiers. These are tools that explain how your organization’s disaster risk management policies reflect the elements within the NIST framework? There are four categories: In part, By Accidental Information, Repetitive, and Variable. They explain how cybersecurity decisions are integrated into risky decisions in your organization. They also help you see how your organization shares and receives cybersecurity information from third parties.
Finally, the NIST Framework contains Profiles. These can be used by any organization to identify opportunities or to improve its cybersecurity status. They are a summary of the organization’s current needs and objectives, risks, and resources. By comparing themselves to the “Target” profile, organizations can have a clear idea of what they need to do to eliminate their risk of cybersecurity.
Finally, the NIST Framework is important for many reasons. It provides the same set of guidelines and principles that all companies can use to improve their cybersecurity efforts. Instead of putting together a solution, architects make it much easier for you to design a custom cybersecurity strategy. It is difficult enough for you to be able to manage a large number of cybersecurity risks. But it is flexible enough to be able to manage those risks most efficiently in your organization.
How to Use the NIST Framework
The NIST framework can also address various cybersecurity issues within your organization. It can go a long way in convincing your organization to use certain risk management procedures in order to reduce the risk of cyberattacks. You and your partner will need to decide how the NIST Framework can best fit the security needs of your organization. Here are a few things:
Make sure all key stakeholders are present. Educate key stakeholders on the benefits of the NIST Framework, how to reduce your organization’s risk of being attacked, and how to achieve these benefits.
Next, make sure you reach an agreement on how you will measure user performance. According to NIST, full functionality depends on your organization’s goals and its implementation. You may want to improve metrics to measure efficiency, but NIST does not offer any specific recommendations.
Lastly, stay committed. It can be easy to think about moving forward from Framework if you do not immediately see the expected results. By doing so and continuing to measure your progress, you will surely see good results.
Conclusion
An effective way to better reduce your organization’s online security risks is to adopt the NIST Framework. Representing the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST is a unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Develops and maintains rating standards. Finally, the NIST Framework can keep you and your colleagues on the same page as you work to reduce the risk of cybersecurity across your organization.
