The National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF) provides an organized and cost-effective approach to managing cybersecurity risk. One of the most notable aspects of the NIST CSF is its flexibility. Organizations can customize the framework to align with their specific risk profiles and business needs.
The current framework is built around five core functions:
- Identify: Understand cybersecurity risks to systems, people, assets, and data.
- Protect: Implement safeguards to ensure delivery of critical services.
- Detect: Develop a way to identify security events and anomalies.
- Respond: Develop a way to respond to a detected security incident, including communications and analysis.
- Recover: Develop a way to restore capabilities or services after a cybersecurity incident
NIST CSF 2.0 will be released in early 2024 and will include Governance as its sixth core function.
Key security requirements:
- Conducting a risk assessment to understand the organization’s risk posture.
- Selecting appropriate security controls based on the risk assessment.
- Implementing policies, procedures, and technology needed to achieve the framework’s outcomes.
- Monitoring the effectiveness of security controls and making adjustments as needed.
