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NIST’s new draft guidance, Special Publication 800-53B, Control Baselines for Information Systems and Organizations, provides important information on selecting both security and privacy control baselines for the Federal Government. These control baselines are from NIST Special Publication 800-53 and have been moved to this separate publication “so the SP 800-53 [can] serve as a consolidated catalog of security and privacy controls regardless of how those controls [are] used by different communities of interest.”   The new guidance addresses federal information systems and is applicable to information systems used or operated by an agency, a contractor on behalf of an agency, or another organization on behalf of an agency.…
Continue Reading NIST Issues Draft Guidance on Security and Privacy Control Baselines – SP 800-53B

NIST recently released the final public draft of SP 800-172, Enhanced Security Requirements for Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information: A Supplement to NIST Special Publication 800-171 (formerly Draft NIST SP 800-171B). NIST is proposing additional security requirements for certain CUI in non-federal systems that is associated with critical programs or high value assets and is soliciting public comments through August 21, 2020.…
Continue Reading NIST Proposes Draft Enhanced Security Requirements for Protecting CUI

As a part of its Cybersecurity for IoT Program, NIST recently released two publications with the goal of providing cybersecurity guidance and best practices specific for companies manufacturing IoT devices. These publications were developed as a part of NIST’s implementation of the 2017 Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure. With these publications, NIST provides a set of recommended activities that manufacturers should consider to improve the securability of IoT devices, as well as a baseline level of security requirements for these devices.
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Continue Reading NIST Releases Cybersecurity Guidance for Manufacturers of IoT Devices

“Internet of Things” devices are listening.  And now the federal government is taking notice. As we reported in our Government Contracts and Investigations blog, to date, federal cybersecurity regulations for government contractors focus on implementing safeguards to protect sensitive government data. A gap has emerged where the federal government purchases IoT devices. Those devices collect and send data online, and are thus are susceptible to hacking and listening in. Proposed legislation recently introduced in both the Senate (S.734) and the House (H.R. 1668) calls for new information security standards to manage these cybersecurity risks. This legislation would affect a wide range of IoT devices. I.e., a device connect to the internet that is not a “general purpose computing device.” …
Continue Reading Feds Want New IoT Guidance to Address Security Vulnerabilities

As many of you have no doubt seen, the Justice Department recently released the report of the Attorney General’s Cyber Digital Task Force, a body the Attorney General had created in February. In the report, the Task Force, chaired by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, seeks to answer the question: “How is the Department responding to cyber threats?” On the off chance that you’re not dying to read all 144 pages, we have provided a short summary and a couple of takeaways below.…
Continue Reading DOJ Report Suggests Direction For Addressing Cyber Threats

On February 20, the Department of Justice announced that Attorney General Sessions had created a new, cross-departmental Cyber-Digital Task Force. He directed the Task Force to advise him on the most effective ways for DOJ to confront cyber threats and keep Americans safe. Specifically, the Task Force is charged with canvassing the work the Department is already doing on cyber, and making recommendations on “how federal law enforcement can more effectively accomplish its [cyber] mission.” He asked for a report from the Task Force by June 30.…
Continue Reading Justice Department Creates Cyber-Digital Task Force

For companies that do business with the government, 2017 was a year of transition, as many began to follow the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, worked to accomplish Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) certification, or rushed to rid their systems of products from Kaspersky Lab. Perhaps most significant was the rush of Pentagon contractors to come into compliance by year’s end with NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-171, as mandated by a new provision of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). This provision requires contractors to comply with NIST’s standards on protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).…
Continue Reading 2018 Likely a Year of Rising Government Standards for Securing Information