RSI Security

Rethinking Your Cybersecurity

Category: NIST 800-171 / DFARS

Stay informed on NIST 800-171 compliance. Access expert guides, requirements, and updates to help your organization protect CUI and meet federal security standards.

  • DFARS Compliance Checklist

    DFARS Compliance Checklist

    What is the DFARS Checklist?

    DFARS stands for Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. Despite its best intentions, the acronym doesn’t give the layman much of a hint to its actual purpose. In simpler terms, the DFARS checklist is a security standard set forth by the Department of Defense (DoD).

    Any business or entity that holds Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is required to meet the DFARS minimum security standards or runs the risk of losing all of their DoD contracts. This supplemental regulation summary comes from NIST Handbook 162. A complete breakdown of cybersecurity requirements and a step-by-step guide is available for your perusal. Be forewarned that the NIST handbook 162 is not the easiest read. However, it is very useful.

    Companies with defense contracts may be interested to know that within NIST Handbook 162 is also information regarding NIST SP 800-171. NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS compliance are closely related but have separate requirements that all must be met in order to maintain DoD contracts.

    The most recent DFARS compliance update deadline was the last day of 2017. Due to the nature of digital security, continual updates of DFARS are to be expected every few years.

    DFARS are complicated security requirements that involve following some confusing instructions. RSI Security has been helping businesses of all sizes with all types of security obligations. Read on to learn how you can cross off the DFARS checklist or contact us today for more personal help.

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  • What You Need to Know About NIST Password Guidelines

    What You Need to Know About NIST Password Guidelines

    Almost every online interaction, whether it be a financial transaction, company login, or a simple email conversation, requires the use of a password. With data breaches becoming more common and prolific, passwords have evolved into complex strings of characters that are difficult to remember. Ironically, this conundrum has resulted in stores selling password books for recording all the numerous credentials individuals use on a daily basis; however, this defeats the very purpose of passwords. Consequently, the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) began researching past data breaches and experimenting with various password structures to identify better authentication practices. Besides providing NIST definitions for cloud computing, the NIST has also now provided guidelines to create safer passwords. Do you know how to create a safe and effective password for your profiles? Learn about NIST password guidelines and NIST compliance by reading on.

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  • How to Improve Your Security With NIST

    How to Improve Your Security With NIST

    Business owners should know the answer to the question, how prepared is your business to face cyber threats? However, most do not. The National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) cybersecurity framework is one of the most recognized structures for improving sensitive data security against todays cyber threats from all devices. Meant to be a voluntary framework for taking security measures to identify and minimize cybersecurity risks, the NIST framework has been used in a wide variety of industries. In this article, well break down why the NIST framework was created, how it is structured, and how it helps to create a robust cybersecurity risk-management strategy. The NIST framework can be daunting at first, particularly for smaller organizations that may not be sure how to leverage the framework to create actionable insights into gaps in their cybersecurity. The information provided in this article should prove as a helpful starting place for organizations wishing to get a brief introduction to the NIST framework, as well as highlight some of the key advantages that adopting the NIST framework brings to organizations of any size.

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