What do you need to know about the Cybersecurity NIST Framework? Read on to learn more.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework Defined
Have you heard about the NIST cybersecurity framework? In the cybersecurity field, it’s a popular helpful guide for both companies.
But, don’t think that this is only for companies or businesses. Even individuals like you and me should also practice the best habits on security.
For example, we need to have strong passwords. So, hackers can easily access our accounts. To have better security, we can also set up a multi-factor authentication setting.
So how can NIST help us? NIST means National Institute of Standards and Technology. It works as a guide for better cybersecurity solutions.
Now, what is the cybersecurity framework all about? For one thing, the framework helps us assess and reduce the risks. So we can prevent cyber attacks from happening.
After all, experiencing an attack is not an easy feat. If anything can bring grave consequences.
For individuals, the cyber incident can harm our personal information, like our credit card details.
But for companies, they can suffer a lot. They can lose everything— customers, reputation, and sales. They can even face legal issues.
Small businesses are also not spared from attacks. In fact, hackers love to target small businesses.
One reason is that most SMBs do not invest in cybersecurity solutions. That’s because they think that they’re less likely to suffer from a breach.
Because they don’t have the protection, they can’t prevent hackers from entering their networks.
That’s why we should do something about cybersecurity. And this is imperative now that cyber attacks are getting more sophisticated.
Now, let’s talk about the parts of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. So, you can get started in the right direction.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework Components
The CSF has the following parts:
- Core
- Tiers
- Profile
Core
The course serves as an overall guide. If organizations follow this, they can manage and reduce the negative effects of attacks.
It also has five high-level functions:
- Identify – equipment, software, and data you use
- Protect – controls to protect computers like security software or getting regular updates
- Detect – monitors computers for unauthorized personnel access
- Respond – plans for keeping business running while responding to incidents
- Recover – restores the affected equipment and parts
Tiers
Tiers show how well a company can respond to cyber risk. Here, it’s important to test processes to see if they can effectively fight against attacks.
It also has four tiers:
- Partial – limited awareness
- Risk-informed – no organizational-wide policy
- Repeatable – organizational risk management process is present
- Adaptable – organizations can adopt policies
NIST Cybersecurity Profiles
Profiling helps companies know what do you want to achieve for their systems. But they have to consider some factors, such as their budget and priorities.
You can also assess your profiles after knowing which core and tier they belong to. So they can build the one that matches their current situation in security.
Finally, they need to consider other goals. By doing so, they can take action based on it.
