NIST 800-171: Confusion and the Protest Docket

By Kathryn Daily, CISSP, RDRP I’m sure by now you’ve at least familiarized yourself with NIST 800- 171, “Protecting Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations.” What wasn’t made clear was how DoD will evaluate a contractor’s System Security Plan (SSP). In May, DoD released draft DoD Guidance for Reviewing System Security Plans and…

RMF Applied to Modern Vehicles

By P. Devon Schall, CISSP, RDRP During a recent RMF literature search, I came across an interesting article titled “RMF Applied to Modern Vehicles”. The article was published by Charlie McCarthy and Kevin Harnett in 2014 and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The overall goal of the research was to collect…

IT Dojo Introduces: STIG 101 Training

By Kathryn Daily, CISSP, RDRP NIST 800-53, and specifically Security Control CM-6, requires an organization to a. Establish and document configuration settings for information technology products employed within the information system using [Assignment: organizationdefined security configuration checklists] that reflect the most restrictive mode consistent with operational requirements; b. Implement the configuration settings; c. Identify, document,…

RMF and the Defense Security Service (DSS)

By Lon J. Berman, CISSP, RDRP at BAI. The Defense Security Service (DSS) serves as an interface between the government and cleared industry. DSS administers and implements the National Industrial Security Program (NISP) by providing oversight and assistance to cleared contractor facilities to ensure protection of classified information. In short, if your company maintains cleared…

NIST 171—What’s That?

By Kathryn Daily, CISSP, RDRP If you heard a whooshing sound on New Years Eve, that was probably the deadline for compliance with NIST 171 flying by. A lot of you might be asking “What is NIST 171?” NIST 171 is a set of requirements documented in the NIST Special Publication 800-171 (Protecting Controlled Unclassified…