The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes and maintains measurement standards and guidelines to help protect the data and information systems of federal agencies. If your organization specializes in these spaces, the NIST compliance framework should not be a stranger to you.
Initially, the NIST 800-171 was meant to be a “common sense” set of guidelines for any organization seeking to improve their cybersecurity. Since compliance with NIST 800-171 became a requirement in 2017, government contractors have been inaccurately self-attesting to NIST 171 compliance, which has resulted in serious cybersecurity deficiencies, security breaches, and delayed projects.
Improve cybersecurity of your data handling policies and procedures with our starter guide for NIST compliance.
You can get ready for the CMMC compliance today, by partnering with Withum to perform a NIST 800-171 compliance audit and cybersecurity assessment. Reach out to us for a complimentary consultation.
Since self-attested NIST 800-171 compliance will no longer be accepted, this means organizations should prepare for the CMMC now by becoming NIST 800-171 compliant as soon as possible. Any type of cybersecurity audit takes time, and a NIST compliance audit is no different. Now that the CMMC deadline is approaching, the last thing companies want is to be scrambling about trying to tie up loose ends and/or fixing surprise noncompliance issues.
The best way to get ready for the CMMC is to follow these steps:
If an organization is found to be out of compliance with NIST 800-171 (and the soon to be CMMC), they risk losing any current contracts or newly won bids, as well as being prevented from closing any additional contracts in the future. Plus, the reputational damage of being non-compliant can have far-reaching consequences. Below is a brief timeline on the expected CMMC rollout:
With over 20 years of experience in the areas of cybersecurity, digital forensics, and data privacy, Withum’s security consultants and auditors have seen it all. We’re well-equipped to help organizations of all sizes prepare for the CMMC by meeting NIST 800-171 compliance. Even though the CMMC is months away, DoD, GSA, and NASA contracts (among others) require NIST 800-171 compliance now.
Don’t be left unprepared — start planning for NIST 800-171 (and CMMC) today – reach out to us for a complimentary consultation.
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