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NIST 800-171 Compliant Cybersecurity

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 is a cybersecurity guideline governing confidential, uncategorized US government data. Actors that must comply with this standard include government contractors and managed service providers (MSPs) for government organizations or institutions that hold federal grants. 

Phin Security provides a comprehensive solution for NIST 800-171 compliance training and advanced security awareness programs that help companies mitigate cyber risks through education.
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Understanding NIST 800-171 Compliance

NIST SP 800-171 prioritizes the guarding of controlled unclassified information (CUI). Under it, government partners, service providers and network actors need to uphold strict cybersecurity practices and policies. The regulation establishes safety specifications to protect delicate data on federal contractors’ tech networks and IT infrastructures. CUI includes sensitive but unclassified data such as supply or purchase data, patents, technical scripts and more. 

There are over 97 compliance requirements aimed at protecting this information. Key requirement categories, known as compliance "control families," include:

  • Access control
  • Audit and accountability
  • Awareness and training
  • Configuration management
  • Identification and authentication
  • Incident response
  • Maintenance
  • Media protection
  • Personnel security
  • Physical protection
  • Planning
  • Risk assessment
  • Security assessment and monitoring
  • System and communications protection
  • System and information integrity
  • Supply chain risk management
  • Systems and services acquisition

 

While CUI data is not officially classified, its sensitive nature can still impact national security. Noncompliance with the 800-717 standard can have repercussions for contractors, including fines, termination of contracts, legal suits and reputational harm.

Cybersecurity Frameworks

NIST’s objective as a federal agency is to design and publish various compliance requirements that bolster cybersecurity tenacity for non-federal private and public organizations that handle CUI. NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework is an excellent guideline for how you can ensure and sustain client compliance. The Framework complies with NIST 800-171 and defines five dimensions for organizational compliance, including:

Identification
Determining CUI touchpoints such as tools, software, devices and more used to manage client data
Protection

Defending these touchpoints through policies for access control, data backups, data encryption, security software, system updates and user awareness training

Detection

Monitoring device use for abnormalities and irregular activity like unapproved access and introducing authentication measures to counter this

Response

Establishing a plan for addressing data attacks, such as informing affected clients, investigating, reporting to relevant authorities and more

Recovery

Restoring networks and affected systems after an attack and reinvigorating CUI safeguarding measures and policies with discoveries

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Why Cybersecurity Training Matters for NIST 800-171

Phin Security offers compliance-friendly training to help organizations stay in check. Through our effective employee training, you can:

  • Inform employees on daily best practices for data protection.
  • Establish data classification skills workers can apply to safeguard sensitive data.
  • Give staff real-life, simulated examples of phishing and other social engineering attacks.
  • Keep an entire workforce up to date on the latest cyberattacks, their signs and how to avoid them.
  • Set and standardize efficient cyberattack response plans to address threats quickly.
  • Comply with NIST 800-171, HIPAA, GDPR and other privacy and security legislations.

We work with diverse managed service providers (MSPs) such as government contractors, SaaS companies and software providers to offer tailored, superior training solutions.

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Why MSPs Choose Our Tools for NIST 800-171 Compliance Services

Introducing Phin tools transforms your service provision and data safety management and offer these usability and application advantages:

  • Tailored application to custom needs
  • Ease of use and setup
  • Swift individual onboarding in under 10 minutes
  • Accessible MSP learning materials
  • Advanced automation for seamless, time-savvy course delivery
  • Hands-on customer support if needed
  • Reporting analytics and data to determine defense improvement areas
  • Extensive and interactive training content and library
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Simplify Security Training

Our security training solution ensures client employees have the required awareness without the time constraints and commitment of managing the program. Allocate training modules to your client’s staff and receive insights into their training progress and company-wide awareness levels. Build an NIST SP 800-171 compliant training program and secure your clients’ businesses with Phin Security. Contact us to learn more or book a platform demo.

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