With increasing volumes of data being exchanged and stored online, businesses have had to take precautions to protect their data as the risk of cyber threats has skyrocketed. This is particularly true of government contractors who have a responsibility to protect sensitive government information by meeting specific cybersecurity compliance standards.
Government contractors and agencies must abide by key frameworks set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that provide comprehensive guidelines for cybersecurity. In particular, the NIST Special Publication (SP) 800 series is essential in helping organizations that handle government data maintain proper cyber security, with NIST 800-53 and NIST 800-171 being critical in helping these organizations maintain NIST compliance.
Yet, meeting NIST compliance guidelines can be overwhelming, as you may not even be sure which framework affects your organization. This is understandable, particularly considering NIST SP 800-53 and 800-171 have a lot in common. Fortunately, understanding the similarities and differences between these two publications can help you determine which one your organization falls under.
The main difference between these two frameworks is that while SP 800-53 contains detailed guidelines for organizations with access to federal IT systems, 800-171 covers regulations for organizations with access to Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Of course, this may not clear up the confusion, and you may still find yourself wondering which set of guidelines affects your organization. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at these two publications, explore the differences between the two, and help you identify which framework best aligns with your compliance needs.
Understanding NIST 800-171 and NIST 800-53
To help you understand the differences between NIST 800-53 and NIST 800-171, let’s first take a deeper look at what these two guidelines do, the purpose they serve, and who they affect.
What is NIST 800-171?
NIST SP 800-171 is a set of security controls that are meant for non-federal organizations that handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). It sets basic security rules that these organizations need to follow to keep CUI safe. While CUI may not be considered top-secret classified information, this data is still sensitive and must be safeguarded to protect national interests. NIST 800-171 then provides a framework for keeping this government data safe from cyber threats, and it primarily affects contractors who work with federal agencies.
Who Needs to Comply with NIST 800-171?
So, who needs to comply with NIST 800-171? This framework applies to non-federal organizations that process, store, or handle CUI on behalf of federal agencies to ensure government data is kept secure and protected when handled outside of federal systems. For detailed information about CUI, download our whitepaper.
NIST 800-171 then affects a wide variety of federal contractors and subcontractors who handle CUI including:
- Defense Contractors
- IT Service Providers
- Research Institutions
- Healthcare Providers
- Financial Institutions
- Consulting Firms
- Legal and Accounting Firms
- Educational Institutions Supported by Federal Grants
- Government Service Providers
- And any other Organization that Processes, Stores, or Transfers CUI of a Federal Agency
Even organizations that don’t currently work with a government agency but who want to do so in the future must become fully compliant with NIST 800-171 to be considered for government contracts.
What is NIST 800-53?
NIST was tasked with creating security standards for federal agencies after Congress passed FISMA (the Federal Information Security Management Act) in 2002. NIST SP 800-53 was then created in 2005 as a result of this mandate, and it provides a comprehensive set of security and privacy controls for federal information systems to enhance cybersecurity. It was created with protocols and safeguards meant to help federal agencies secure and protect sensitive information against potential cyber threats. It then provides organizations with access to federal information systems with comprehensive information on what data needs to be secured and specific protocols for protecting this data.
Who Needs to Comply with NIST 800-53?
To comply with FISMA, all organizations with access to federal information systems must comply with NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5. While this framework was specifically written with federal agencies in mind, it can also apply to other entities in the private and public sectors with access to federal information systems. A few examples of organizations that must comply with NIST 800-53 include:
- Federal Agencies Like The FDA, OSHA, CPSC, and the FTC
- Federal Contractors with Access to Federal Information Systems
- Government Grantees
- Some Federal Service Providers
- State and Local Governments that Manage Federal programs like Unemployment Insurance or Medicare/Medicaid
- Federal Financial Institutions
- And some Research Institutions
Key Differences Between NIST 800-171 and NIST 800-53
Knowing the differences between NIST 800-171 and 800-53 can help you determine which one may apply to your organization. The main distinction between these two publications is their primary audience. While both frameworks apply to organizations that handle government data, NIST 800-53 covers organizations with access to federal systems, and NIST 800-171 applies to contractors and other non-federal organizations that handle CUI. Additional differences between the two publications include:
Scope and Applicability
Scope and applicability are two of the biggest differentiating factors between NIST 800-171 and 800-53. While NIST 800-171 focuses on the security requirements of organizations that handle CUI on non-federal systems, NIST 800-53 has broader applications as it covers security controls for federal systems as a whole, applying to multiple government agencies and their partners, and it provides comprehensive security for federal information systems. NIST 800-53 then solely has a federal focus as it only targets organizations within the federal information ecosystem, while NIST 800-171 is for those dealing with CUI on behalf of the federal government.
Control Sets
Another significant difference between NIST 800-171 and 800-53 is the number of controls and control families outlined in these frameworks. While NIST 800-171 has 110 security controls spread across 14 families, NIST 800-53 has over 1,150 controls in 20 families.
Additionally, while the controls in NIST 800-171 focus solely on CUI security, NIST 800-53 provides broader security guidelines for government organizations for processing, transmitting, and storing data. Below is a brief outline of the control families for each framework.
NIST 800-53 Control Families
With over 1,150 security controls organized into 20 families, NIST 800-53 provides more comprehensive and detailed security controls than NIST 800-171. These control families include:
- Access Control
- Awareness and Training
- Audit and Accountability
- Assessment, Authorization, and Monitoring
- Configuration Management
- Contingency Planning
- Identification and Authentication
- Incident Response
- Maintenance
- Media Protection
- Physical and Environmental Protection
- Planning
- Program Management
- Personnel Security
- PLL Processing and Transparency
- Risk Assessment
- System and Services Acquisition
- System and Communications Protection
- System and Information Integrity
- Supply Chain Management
It is important to note that even if your organization must comply with NIST 800-53, you are not required to implement every control in the document. The security controls in this framework are grouped into three different baselines for systems with low, moderate, or high-security impact. The process for determining which baseline your organization is subject to is regulated by FIPS 199. Once you know which baseline applies to your organization, you can refer to NIST 800-53 supplementary publication 800-53B, which contains detailed tables showing which controls are part of which baseline.
NIST 800-171 Control Families
Alternatively, NIST 800-171 consists of 110 controls organized into 14 families. The security requirements in this framework are derived from the moderate control baseline of NIST 800-53, essentially making NIST 800-171 a subset of NIST 800-53. The control families covered in NIST 800-171 include:
- Access Control
- Awareness and Training
- Audit and Accountability
- Configuration Management
- Identification and Authentication
- Incident Response
- Maintenance
- Media Protection
- Personnel Security
- Physical Protection
- Risk Assessment
- Security Assessment
- System and Communications Protection
- System and Information Integrity
When to Use NIST 800-171 vs. NIST 800-53
So, how can you be sure whether NIST 800-171 or NIST 800-53 applies to you? In most cases, it is fairly simple to determine which framework applies to your organization, as NIST 800-171 applies to non-government organizations that handle, store, and process CUI, which NIST 800-53 is intended for federal organizations and non-federal organizations with access to federal information systems. If your organization has access to federal information systems, even if you’re not a government agency, NIST 800-53 will apply. However, if your organization only has access to CUI, then you likely only need to comply with NIST 800-171.
Of course, implementing NIST security guidelines can be confusing, which is why many organizations that must comply with NIST choose to work with an MSP experienced, like Agile IT, in helping organizations achieve and maintain NIST compliance. The right compliance partner can help you determine which framework applies to you and create a plan to help you achieve compliance.
Compliance Requirements
Regardless of which framework applies to your organization, maintaining compliance with NIST standards is essential for organizations handling CUI or federal information systems, as failure to comply with these frameworks can result in legal and financial penalties, loss of contracts, and reputational damage. Once you know which framework applies to your organization, you must then take time to familiarize yourself with the compliance requirements involved so that you can develop a strategy to achieve and maintain compliance. To help get you started, below we’ve prepared a brief outline of the process of compliance for each framework to help ensure you are prepared for an audit.
NIST 800-171 Compliance Process
NIST 800-171 compliance is achieved by partnering with an approved, third-party organization that will provide a compliance audit. To ensure you are prepared when this assessment takes place, consider taking the following steps:
- Perform a Gap Analysis: The first step you should take is to perform a gap analysis to identify gaps between your current security practices and the requirements outlined in NIST 800-171. This can help you quickly identify what changes need to be made to ensure compliance.
- Develop a Compliance Plan: Based on the results of your gap analysis, your next step would be to outline a plan to help you achieve compliance. Outline specific tasks that need to be performed to achieve compliance, and prioritize these tasks based on risk assessments.
- Implement Security Measures: Now it will be time to start implementing the security controls outlined in NIST 800-171. Depending on your current security practices and standards, this may involve upgrading software, improving access controls, updating security policies, or implementing encryption.
- Collect Documentation: Your final step will be to prepare audit documentation to demonstrate compliance with NIST 800-171. This documentation should include records on system architecture, data flow, personnel, and security procedures.
NIST 800-53 Compliance Process
The first step to achieving NIST 800-53 compliance is to determine which baseline your organization falls under, as this will determine which controls apply to you. Once you know what controls apply to your organization, you can take the following steps to achieve NIST 800-53 compliance:
- Inventory Your Assets: Take some time to identify and classify all of your data, servers, devices, and other assets. This will give you a better idea of the type of data your organization deals with, where it is stored, and how you should prioritize securing your assets.
- Perform a Risk Assessment: Next, you should perform a risk assessment to identify the security threats your organization faces, their potential impact, and steps that you can take to remediate these vulnerabilities. This can give you a place to start as you go about securing your sensitive data against cyber threats.
- Control Access An important step in securing your data and making sure that you are NIST compliant is to create and manage access controls for employees and vendors to ensure that only authorized users can access critical assets. Implementing the principle of least privilege can be essential in protecting your data from a potential breach.
- Implement Continuous Monitoring: Once you have taken steps to secure your systems and implement the controls outlined in NIST 800-53, your job isn’t done. In order to maintain compliance, it is essential that you establish continuous monitoring procedures as well as alert systems for data, network activity, and endpoints so that you can detect and respond to threats quickly.
Agile IT Can Help You Maintain Compliance
If you are a government contractor, it is essential that you are compliant with NIST standards to protect CUI and maintain your existing contracts. Both NIST 800-171 and NIST 800-53 provide important guidance on information security controls, and while they have different scopes and purposes, they both provide essential guidelines for data monitoring, risk management, and incident response.
Of course, there is a lot that goes into maintaining compliance with the NIST 800-171 or 800-53 framework, and you may not be sure where to start or which framework applies to your organization. This is where it can be beneficial to partner with IT professionals who have experience handling the unique compliance and security needs of government contractors.
At Agile IT, we have the knowledge and experience to help you review your compliance needs, help you determine which NIST framework applies to you, and ensure that your data is properly secured so that you can maintain your government contracts. Contact us today to learn how Agile IT can streamline your compliance process and safeguard your organization with our comprehensive NIST compliance services.
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